Preparations are underway as an arctic blast dives into the nation's interior and southern regions and pushes a snowstorm into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast that will be followed by lethal cold.

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.

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.

An arctic blast will send temperatures across the United States plummeting as bitterly cold air that originated in Siberia will arrive from Canada by week’s end, bringing with it dangerously cold wind chills for millions of Americans.