Bitter cold, several feet of snow hit parts of eastern US

— -- Snow is continuing to fall in some areas of the United States after record-breaking accumulations on Christmas Day.

Western New York state and Pennsylvania are bracing for a total of up to 6 feet of snow, with a major blast of cold hitting from the Rockies to the Northeast.

Northeast

Records were shattered in Erie, Pennsylvania, when 34 inches of snow fell on Christmas Day, making it Erie's snowiest day on record.

As of this afternoon, Erie has had a total of 54.5 inches of snow since midnight Christmas Day -- the greatest two-day snowfall on record for Erie.

Due to the massive snowfall, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is restricting commercial vehicle travel on some Erie County interstates. And in nearby Lake County, Ohio, speeds were reduced to 30 mph on parts of Interstate 90.

And the snow isn't over.

Lake effect snow warnings continue through Wednesday from east of Cleveland, Ohio, to Erie, to upstate Watertown, New York.

Parts of western New York are forecast to see up to 50 inches of snow through Wednesday.

Winter wonderland

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It's the Winter season and with it comes fun winter scenes. Winter also brings not only long nights and short days but gives us the most beautiful landscapes in the world when covered in white. Snow falls on a soldier from the mounted Household Cavalry near Horseguards Parade in London, Feb. 27, 2018.

Alastair Grant/AP

Midwest

Parts of the Midwest had their coldest Christmas on record.

Chicago and Minneapolis both had their coldest Christmas since 1996, while Duluth, Minnesota, had its chilliest Dec. 25 since 1933.

The Midwest is experiencing frigid cold today, with this morning’s temperature falling to minus-8 degrees in Minneapolis and St. Paul and minus-16 in Ladysmith, Wisconsin.

This photo was snapped today in Duluth, Minnesota, where temperatures fell to minus-21 degrees with a wind chill of minus-44.

At least six weather-related fatalities have occurred in Missouri.

In Missouri this morning, a car slid off the roadway, and as the driver was walking to get into a tow truck, another car lost control and hit the pedestrian, who was killed, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. Another three people died in accidents on Saturday, while two were killed on Sunday, according to The Associated Press. One hundred and twenty-five were hurt in weekend accidents in Missouri.

West Coast

Seattle had its first white Christmas in nine years.

Downtown Portland, Oregon, also had a white Christmas for only the sixth time since 1884.

Major cold blast

A major cold blast is stretching across the country with 20 states from Colorado to Maine under a wind chill advisory for Wednesday morning.

The most brutal cold is in the northern Plains, the upper Midwest and northern New England, where wind chills will be close to minus-30 degrees.

In Chicago, it's expected to feel like minus-14 degrees in the city and feel as cold as minus-25 or minus-30 degrees in the suburbs.

Kansas City, Indianapolis, Detroit, Minneapolis and Buffalo are all expected to have wind chills below zero Wednesday morning.

Then Thursday morning, the cold reaches the northeast. Cities from Washington, D.C., to New York should be bracing for wind chills in the single digits, while in Boston it will feel like minus-16 degrees and will feel like minus-20 to minus-30 degrees across northern New England.