Snow covers trees at Nay Aug Park after the first snowfall of the season, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019, in Scranton, Pa. (Sean McKeag/The Citizens' Voice via AP)
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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - An arctic blast that sent shivers across the Midwest spread across the eastern U.S. on Wednesday, with bitter weather establishing new cold-temperature records from Mississippi to Maine.
Temperatures dipped to single digits early Wednesday across parts of the Northeast, and unseasonably cold weather extended to the Gulf Coast. Forecasters projected even lower temperatures late Wednesday and early Thursday in some locations.
The frigid airmass produced mid-winter conditions, said Mark Bloomer, a meteorologist with National Weather Service in Caribou, Maine.
Record low temperatures for the date were recorded Tuesday in New York City; Buffalo, New York; Burlington, Vermont; and parts of Ohio. More daily records were broken Wednesday morning in Burlington, along with several locations in Pennsylvania.
To the south, daily records fell Wednesday across a large swath of the region accustomed to milder weather.
The temperature dropped to 18 degrees (minus 8 Celsius) in Birmingham, Alabama, early Wednesday, breaking the previous low record of 22 degrees (minus 6 Celsius) set in 1911. More than 100 other sites in Alabama also reached historic lows, officials said.
In Greenville, Mississippi, the temperature dropped to 17 degrees (minus 8 Celsius), breaking a record of 23 degrees (minus 5 Celsius) set 108 years ago.
Even the Gulf Coast saw temperatures below freezing, producing 'œsea smoke'ť as chilly air moved over warmer water.
The cold air followed heavy snow across a wide swath that proved deadly in some places. In southwestern Michigan, a man died Tuesday after getting trapped beneath machinery he was using to clear snow from his marijuana grow business.
A man walks across the icy Legislative Plaza Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. Snow and icy conditions are snarling traffic and closing or delaying schools in parts of the Northeast and South. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
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With a steady snow falling, a squirrel eats seeds from a recycled jack-o-lantern in Johnson City, Tenn., on Tuesday morning, Nov. 12, 2019. Following the light snowfall, temperatures began to drop throughout the day with record cold expected overnight. (David Crigger/Bristol Herald Courier via AP)
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Ben Barney shovels the sidewalk on North Center Street in downtown Corry, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. Erie and Crawford counties were under a winter storm warning from the National Weather Service in Cleveland. (Jack Hanrahan/Erie Times-News via AP)
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A walker takes a stroll through the light snow at Steele Creek Park in Bristol Tennessee on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. Following the light snowfall, temperatures began to drop throughout the day with record cold expected overnight. (Andre Teague/Bristol Herald Courier via AP)
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Emma Hart, 5 of Clio, stops to lick up fresh snow as she rolls around while sledding with her father Ryan Hart on the hill behind Southwestern Classical Academy on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019 in Flint, Mich. (Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP)
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A woman passes in front of the Everhart Museum after the first snowfall of the season in Scranton, Pa. Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. (Sean McKeag/The Citizens' Voice via AP)
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Frank and Barbara Pascarelli shovel snow from their driveway in White River Junction, Vt., Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. "I like being outdoors, but I can think of better things to do," said Frank Pescarelli. (James M. Patterson/The Valley News via AP)
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