According to ABC News, cold weather from the Arctic is expected to hit the United States next week, with temperatures possibly hitting record lows in some areas.

The meteorological website Severe Weather Europe pointed out that this Arctic cold wave was caused by large-scale changes in air pressure and the movement of the polar vortex.

Fox Weather added that this year two high pressure areas are bringing cold air from Canada to the eastern United States.

The National Weather Service said the cold snap will bring the coldest air of the season to millions of Americans, with dangerous wind chills and freezing temperatures possible in the Southeast.

AccuWeather analysis suggests that this weather pattern could trigger a winter storm, with snow possible in major cities such as New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Temperatures are expected to be 30 degrees Fahrenheit (about 17 degrees Celsius) below the average for this time of year, and may even drop below freezing along the southern Gulf Coast and Florida.

Temperatures from the Rockies to the East Coast will begin to drop on Thursday, with the true cold snap peaking in a week or two.

The cold snap will have widespread impacts, potentially causing damage to the power grid and possibly heavy snow in the Great Lakes region and the Northeast.

Some houses in the South Central and Southeast with poor insulation or exposed pipes may be at risk for frozen pipes and flooding.

If the cold snap reaches its maximum intensity, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida could experience their coldest January in recent years.

Fox Weather warns the vortex has the potential to bring a major winter storm.

According to the WPC forecast, the storm will affect the northern Plains on January 3rd, cover the Ohio Valley on January 4th, and reach the Mid-Atlantic region on January 5th.

Sleet and freezing rain could affect southern Kansas, the Ozarks, and parts of the Tennessee Valley.

On January 7th, temperatures could drop to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (about -6 degrees Celsius) in parts of Georgia, while parts of Texas could see as low as 10 degrees Fahrenheit (about -12 degrees Celsius).

In Atlanta, temperatures have dropped below 10 degrees Fahrenheit only three times since 2000.

The cold is expected to last throughout January and gradually ease in February.

The last time a similar cold wave occurred was during the polar vortex in January 2014, when more than 20 people died from the cold across the United States.