The office of the Weather Service in Bismarck, N.D., described the conditions as “life threatening,” cautioning that wind chills in western and central North Dakota could lead to hypothermia. Subzero wind chills are also expected to extend as far south as Texas, Arkansas and western Tennessee and Kentucky.

Record-breaking cold and dangerously low wind chills are expected this week in much of the Central and Eastern United States.

An Arctic blast tied in part to the polar vortex is driving record frigid air south from the Northern Plains toward the Gulf Coast Tuesday in a cold snap that will last the entire week. Threat level: This event is forecast to set records for the coldest temperatures on record for this late in the season,