Much of the U.S. bracing for a big blast of winter — and serious cold

A blast of Arctic air will send temperatures dropping across the eastern United States this week — and the frigid conditions could linger longer and expose millions to a prolonged and dangerous bout of winter weather. “We’re going to be stuck in a cooler pattern,” said Zachary Yack, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Chicago. “It will definitely go into the middle and early part of next week.”