ANKARA

Nearly 80 million people across the US East Coast are on alert as a major arctic blast grips the region this weekend, with Sunday morning expected to be the coldest of the season, media reports said on Saturday.

Extreme Cold Warnings are in effect across much of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, as frigid air and strong winds drive wind chill values well below zero, according to ABC News.

Wind chills dropped to dangerous levels early Saturday from the Great Lakes to the Carolinas, with colder conditions expected through the weekend.

Snow is winding down in coastal New England after an inverted trough produced highly localized heavy snowfall, with some bands delivering up to 2.5 inches per hour.

With temperatures falling into the single digits across most of the Northeast and strong winds persisting, subzero wind chills are forecast across the region.

Major cities, including New York City, Boston, and Buffalo, are expected to see wind chills in the minus 10s, where frostbite on exposed skin can occur in as little as 30 minutes.

Wind chills in upstate New York and northern New England could reach minus 20 to minus 30 degrees Celsius (-4 to -22 degrees Fahrenheit).

Conditions are expected to gradually improve by Monday, with calmer winds and a warming trend developing across the East next week.