A polar vortex dipping down from Siberia will bring a cold front with frigid temperatures to nearly 300 million Americans. See maps of the arctic blast.

This week will bring a north/south split in terms of temperature and weather, according to the Met Office, with Northern Ireland and the northern half of the country seeing cloudy weather with outbreaks of patchy rain and between 9C and 12C, while the central and southern areas drier and between 5C and 8C.

A blast of Arctic air is set to cover much of the United States with temperatures below freezing starting on Friday and into next week, impacting millions of Americans in nearly all of the contiguous states.

Snow and winds are likely to disrupt traffic, trigger flight cancellations, and cause headaches for people traveling to D.C. for Inauguration Day. Baby, it’s cold outside, and it’s about to get even colder for much of the United States.

A major cold blast is in store for millions of Americans as a lobe of a polar vortex will bring brutally cold temperatures to nearly every American east of the Rockies.