Get ready for the chill! Forecasters predict temperatures could fall 35 degrees BELOW average as a polar plunge sweeps across the country 

  • Forecasters say temperatures will take a massive plunge over the next few days 
  • Arctic winds are sweeping across the country in a massive jet stream this week 
  • Temperatures in some parts of the U.S. will be as much as 35 below average 
  • Snow's forecast in the High Plains, and also the Mississippi Valley and northeast 
  • Even Texas will be chilly, will Dallas expected to have its coldest day since 2015 

People across the country and digging into their closets for gloves and scarves ahead of the arrival of the first polar plunge of the season this week.

In what is being described as the coldest arctic blast since last winter, cities as far apart as Seattle and Chicago are expecting to cop a snow-coating in the coming days.

The cold is expected to stick around next week as well, near freezing and below temperatures forecast in New York, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Massachusetts, Michigan and Tennessee until Thursday.

But the cities to cop the cold in the next few days are those across the Northern High Plains in Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Wyoming, and other places, will be as much as 35 degrees colder than average for this time of year, according to theNational Weather Service.

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People across the country and digging into their closets for gloves and scarves, ahead of the arrival of the first polar plunge this week. Pictured is a woman walking through snow in North Dakota

This map shows how a huge jet stream of Arctic air is going to sweep across the country this week

The Chicago Cubs posted these pictures on Instagram showing Wrigley Field covered in snow on Monday

The images, which were part of a video shot using a drone, showed how much snow fell in Chicago

It is forecast Friday could be the coldest day in Dallas since winter 2015.  

Heavy snow is also expected in the next few days in the Upper Mississippi Valley, and across the Appalachians.

The wintry spell could create headaches for travelers across parts of the east coast, with Accuweather expecting slippery and potentially snowy conditions on Interstate 80, I-81 and I-90. 

The World Series winning Chicago Cubs put out a video on Tuesday of the snow in Chicago, showing it covering the team's famous Wrigley Field home. 

FIVE-DAY FORECAST IN CITIES IN THE PATH OF THE POLAR PLUNGE 

Denver  Minneapolis Chicago  ClevelandPhiladelphia New York Jacksonville Dallas 
Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday
12 - 32

3 - 19

12 - 27

30 - 50

26 - 55 
17 - 25

16 - 22

12 - 23

12 - 18

22- 28
23 - 40

18 - 31

17 - 24

12 - 23

23 - 27
35 - 41

31 - 40

29 - 32

25 - 34

23 - 31
42 - 46

34 - 51

30 - 45

26 - 42

26 - 39
43 - 47

38 - 49

33 - 45

29 - 42

29 - 38
55 - 82

52 - 75

45 - 70

39 - 55

51 - 59
41 - 54

36 - 58

29 - 42

35 - 48

51 - 56 

The video, which was shot with a drone, started out high above the stadium, before flying down to field-level for a closer look at the freezing conditions. 

It comes after it was forecast on Monday the arrival of massive cold wilds from the west started to push temperatures down from coast to coast.  

'Frigid air from the depths of the Arctic will plunge into the United States as the jet stream (a fast-river of air along which storms travel) drops southward,' the online forecaster stated.

The freezing winds are expected to impact temperatures in the Midwest on Wednesday and Thursday, before the east coast cops it on Friday. 

This map shows where precipitation and snow is expected across the country in the coming days

Snow is seen beginning to settle on trees in downtown Walla Walla in Washington state on Tuesday

These maps show where snowfall is expected overnight on Tuesday in parts of the northeast and around Denver

A map of the Midwest and parts of the east coast shows where snow is expected in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and other states

From El Paso, Texas to Jacksonville, Florida temperatures will barely climb to or above 50 degrees later this week. 

Across the northern Florida Peninsula, temperatures could possibly drop below freezing.

'For many places in the East, temperatures on Friday will be lower than at any point during last year's unusually warm December,' Thompson said.

More polar plunges are expected to follow next week as the cold snap locks in. 

This Weather.com map points out where snow is forecast on the northwest coast, and further inland

Trains tracks in Washington are almost entirely covered in snow. More wintry weather is expected in the state in the coming days

The northwest and northeast are expected to cop the worst of the snow from the polar plunge this week, as this map shows

A more detailed snow forecast breaks down where snow is likely to fall in the northwest, and how much will hit the ground

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