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Did you have to dig out the winter coats? - We did, we just had to go for our walk tonight, we dug them all.
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And tonight leaving 86 million Americans across 25 States under freeze alerts. - I've never seen anything like this is super early.
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In particular parts of Northern Michigan and Wisconsin slammed with more than a foot of snow, Whitecaps crashing on the Great Lakes.
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The storm knocking out power for thousands, and closing schools, its paralyzing impact stretching into Illinois and Indiana where roads today were impassable.
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Snow falling as far south as Kentucky and Tennessee, the system's powerful punch Landing more than two months before the official start of winter.
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East of the Rockies temperatures are 10 to 25 degrees below average, even seasoned locals shudder. - And this is it a birthday gift or is it a problem. It's a problem.
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Countless families forced to crank the heat, just as heating bills are expected to hit a 10-year High, leaving some left to wonder whether this unseasonably severe cold snap is a sign of brutal winter weather to come.
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Is any part of this painful given? that we're like mid-october? - It's going to be a long winter, a really long winter starting this early.
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And Maggie joining me now I know the timing of this storm made the impact much worse. - Yeah Lester that's right here in the Upper Peninsula where you can see snow is still falling.
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Utility crews are reportedly finding a lot of downed trees that hadn't shed their leaves yet, meaning they were likely toppled by snow, because this early in Fall, they're that much heavier, Lester.
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Maggie Vespa, thank you, let's get right to Al Roker who is tracking this cold wave, Al, what can we expect for the rest of the week?
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Lester we've got this storm system over the Great Lakes, it'll be moving out, but probably dump another one to three inches of snow, so that's out of here.
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But still here, 86 million of us are going to be under some sort of frost advisories, freeze warning, from the plains all the way to Northeast down to the gulf.
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We've got that jet stream dipping way down, records possible in 18 states, from Texas, Kansas, on into Kentucky, in the East Southeast and down to the gulf.
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And then tomorrow, temperatures still below average, anywhere from 10 to 15, from Philadelphia, Baton Rouge, St. Louis, those will start to moderate late this week, and then next week, warmer in the East, colder out west.