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A large winter storm is making its way east toward the Midwest, New England

Freezing temperatures are expected throughout most of the country

CNN  — 

The majority of the country will see freezing temperatures by the end of the weekend, and many northern states will get a blanket of snow.

The same storm that walloped Oregon Wednesday is moving east towards the Great Lakes and will likely reach New England by Saturday.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Nearly 80% of the country will see below-freezing temperatures in the next week

• Wind-chill temperatures could reach 40 below zero in some northern states and 10 below farther south

• About 40 million people are under wind-chill advisories or warnings from Thursday through Friday morning

Winter Weather Forecast

Major coastal cities in the Northeast will see a changeover from snow to rain by Saturday evening.

Blizzard conditions are expected to hit areas along the Great Lakes with strong winds and heavy snow into Friday morning.

Up to 10 inches of snow could fall in the Minneapolis area Friday evening into Saturday, the National Weather Service said.

Subfreezing temperatures

New York, Washington and Boston had extremely cold temperatures Saturday, with the wind chill ranging from minus 10 to minus 35 degrees in some locations from Pennsylvania up into Maine.

New York and Washington, D.C. will plunge into sub-freezing temperatures over the next few days as the arctic blast sweeps east.

Strong winds could also be an issue. New York’s Central Park could see wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour through early Friday morning – along with bitter cold. High-wind warnings extend from New York through parts of Massachusetts where wind gusts could reach up to 60 mph in some locations from Cape Cod up into the Boston metro area.

Strong winds have already been an issue, with gusts in excess of 60 mph in some locations, including areas along Cape Cod.

The good news is that temperatures will rebound for some areas over the weekend. But the respite may be brief as the next arctic blast is expected to return to parts of the Midwest and Northeast by Sunday.

Portions of Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota are expected see their coldest air in two years.

Chicago Bears game could break record

This weekend’s game between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers could be the coldest since the Bears started tracking kickoff temperatures.

The previous record was set December 22, 2008 – also against the Packers. The kickoff temperature was 2 degrees, with a frigid 13 below zero wind-chill temperature.

Chicago is poised to break that record Sunday.

Oregon grapples with snow

In the West, a snowstorm hammered parts of Oregon on Wednesday. Photos showed cars strewn across snow-covered roads and trucks spun out at odd angles. Officials asked drivers to avoid the roads as traffic ground to a virtual halt.

In the Portland metro area, the snowstorm jammed public transportation and stranded hundreds of students who couldn’t get home due to dangerous road conditions, reported CNN affiliate KOIN. They got stuck in traffic on school buses or spent extra hours at school, waiting to be picked up after one to three inches of snow fell across the region. Many of the area schools closed Thursday to avert more chaos on the roads, according to CNN affiliate KPTV.

Oregon also had three avalanches Wednesday amid the flurry of snow, closing down Highway 20, said the Oregon State Police.

In California, flood concerns

On the West Coast, a strong storm system is looming from the Pacific Ocean. It could dump up to eight inches of rain north of San Francisco and could extend as far south as the metro Los Angeles region by Thursday evening.

Flood watches and warnings have been issued for much of the state through Friday. Winds from this system could also reach tropical storm strength in the mountain areas as the storm moves towards the Rockies.