Record Cold Settles In South, East, Impacting Many Without Power From Winter Storm Fern

We'll Be Keeping An Eye On Weekend Storm

Extreme cold has settled into central and eastern parts of the U.S., and for many across the South, this record cold is unfortunately coming at a time when the power is out due to Winter Storm Fern. Many could be shivering in the dark for several days, which is making the frigid air even more dangerous.

(MORE: Major Winter Storm Targets South, Midwest, Northeast)

The National Weather Service has issued extreme cold alerts in parts of the Midwest, South and Ohio Valley as this dangerously cold air arrives, as the map below shows.

Many dozens of daily record cold high and low temperatures may fall by the wayside this week in the South and East. That's tough to do during what is already the coldest time of year. Some of these cities, particularly in Texas, may threaten daily records multiple days in a row through Tuesday.

New Records Set Monday Morning

More than a dozen record lows were set Monday morning across the Deep South, many in just the state of Texas alone, as temperatures dropped well below freezing.

Some of the cities with new daily record lows include:

New Orleans: 27 degrees

San Antonio: 19 degrees

Austin: 19 degrees

Brownsville, TX: 30 degrees

Tulsa, OK: 0 degrees

Springfield, MO: -11 degrees

What’s more impressive is that some of the old records were long-standing, meaning we haven’t seen this severe of a cold snap since the 1940s or the 1960s in some cases. In San Antonio, the previous record low was set back in the 1897!

Here is where the coldest air is right now.

Plains And Midwest

While the coldest air is in the Northern Plains and upper Midwest, temperatures will actually "warm" beginning Tuesday. However, the “feels like” temperatures, or the wind chills, will still be close to 25 degrees below zero in some places. That's cold enough to cause frostbite within minutes. And that will be the case for several days in a row.

Even places like Des Moines, Chicago and Detroit will continue to face below zero wind chills.

While these temperatures won't break any records, it's still a dangerous cold.

Deep South

Winter Storm Fern has ushered in snow, ice and dangerously cold temperatures across the South. Dozens of records could fall in the next two days, as the extreme cold settles in.

Not only will lows be in the teens and 20s for much of this region, the winter storm is leaving many in the dark due to power outages from the ice potential.

This means many could face dangerously cold temperatures with no power.

(MORE: 5 Things To Know About Ice Storms)

Morning wind chills in the South are forecast to stay in the single digits and teens for places like Dallas, Oklahoma City and Little Rock.

We could see records fall through Tuesday across much of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, and highs won’t make it above freezing for millions.

The National Weather Service office in Dallas issued a strong warning about the potential for widespread pipe damage due to the prolonged cold.

The Northeast

Yes, the cold has spilled eastward as well, bringing temperatures that will even make the hearty New Englanders shiver.

Interior portions of the Northeast and northern New England will face the coldest temperatures. Lows will remain in the single digits and teens from Upstate New York to northern Maine, with the wind making it feel even colder. Much of the Northeast will see morning wind chills below zero at least through Thursday.

Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.