The highest snow accumulations are expected east of Lake Ontario, where some isolated areas could get up to 60 inches of lake effect snow early in the week.

An Arctic blast brought snow, frost and dangerously cold winds to the northern Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes, creating difficult travel conditions on one of the busiest travel days of the year, as millions of Americans head home from their Thanksgiving destinations.

Parts of the US face a "significant Arctic outbreak" for the Thanksgiving holiday, which includes some of the country's busiest travel days of the year. "Dangerously cold wind chills" are anticipated over the northern Plains on Thursday by the National Weather Service (NWS) with wind chills as low as -40C (-40F) in North Dakota into Saturday.

The coldest air of the season so far is set to arrive later this week for the Northern Plains-Midwest and into parts of the South and East. The threat for heavy lake effect snow across the Great Lakes continues to increase as well.

Some parts of the country will receive heavy lake-effect snow and others will see rain or dry weather with subfreezing temperatures.

An arctic blast of severe cold and snow is creating hazardous conditions across the Great Lakes region over the next two days, according to the US Weather Prediction Center, potentially disrupting the plans of millions traveling the roads and skies.

Winter weather is making its presence known across the U.S. as millions of people deal with the onslaught of a long-duration, lake-effect snowstorm that has paralyzed communities downwind of the Great Lakes.