Record-low temperatures smack eastern two-thirds of the U.S.

An Arctic blast striking the Midwest carried over into the eastern U.S., bringing record-low temperatures to parts of New York, Vermont and Ohio on Wednesday, AP reports.

Why it matters: "The frigid airmass produced mid-winter conditions" in November, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Mark Bloomer told AP. Snow and ice have resulted in at least four deaths in auto accidents in the Plains and throughout the Midwest, per Weather.com.

The state of play: Nearly 30% of the continental U.S. is covered in snow, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the second-greatest Nov. 12 measure since monitoring started in 2003.

• "[M]ore than a hundred locations are expected to tie or set new low-temperature records," the National Weather Service writes.

Record low temperatures, per AP:

• New York City.
• Buffalo, N.Y.
• Burlington, Vt.
• Parts of Ohio.
• Areas in Pennsylvania.
• Birmingham, Ala., and more "than 100 other sites in Alabama."
• Mississippi.

What's next: Forecasters expect temperatures to drop further late Wednesday and into Thursday morning in some locations, per AP.

Go deeper:

• Arctic blast set to spread across the U.S. in record cold snap
• Snow storm strikes the Midwest
• Early blizzard demolishes harvests already threatened by spring floods

Editor's note: This article has been updated with the latest weather forecast.