Snowstorm, backed by arctic blast, slams Northeast

More than 45 million people on Tuesday morning were under snow alerts from Virginia to Maine. The first significant snowstorm of the season in the Northeast, has hit New York and Boston, after wreaking havoc earlier this week, when weather conditions left people trapped on the highway for more than 24 hours in Virginia, including the state's governor.

A winter storm warning is in effect for Connecticut, Rhode Island and into Boston, and all of coastal New England. Some of those areas could see a foot and a half of snow.

A state of emergency has been issued in New Jersey and there is a blizzard warning in effect for eastern, coastal Maine.

This same storm system brought traffic to a standstill in part of the the Mid-South, from Kentucky to Tennessee where dozens of accidents were reported. Nashville, Tennessee, saw record daily snowfall -- 6.3 inches -- the average there is 4.7 inches for the entire winter.

Some other records were broken as well. Lexington, Kentucky, received a whopping 9.9 inches, breaking that city's daily record as well.

As of Friday morning, here's how much snow has fallen across the region:

-Higganum, Connecticut: 12 inches

- LaGuardia Airport, New York City: 8.4 inches

- Central Park, New York City: 5.5 inches

- Newark, New Jersey: 6 inches

- Long Island, New York: 7-9 inches

- Rhode Island: 10 inches

- Boston, Massachusetts: 7.1 inches, up to 12 inches south of town

- Philadelphia 2.9 inches (officially) but up to 4 inches in the metro area

- Washington, D.C., Reagan National (officially) 2.6 inches, but 3 to 4 inches inside the Beltway

An arctic blast with the coldest air of the season is following the snow. The Midwest is already seeing below-zero temperatures with wind chill near negative 53 degrees.

Wind chills are also dropping into the teens Friday morning from Texas to Alabama, and it feels like it’s freezing in Florida's panhandle.

On Saturday, the coldest air of the season will move into the Northeast. Wind chills will be near zero in Boston, and in single digits in New York City, Philadelphia and D.C.

Black ice will be a major problem Saturday morning in the Northeast as the slushy snow will freeze on the streets and roads.