Ferocious cold gripping more than 20 states as record heat bakes the rest of the country will leave America split down the middle into spring. Jet-stream winds swerving thousands of miles across the US through February will continue to funnel Arctic air into the north as Gulf States hit 80F.

North Florida residents from Pensacola to Jacksonville are bracing for what is expected to be a historic, once-in-a-lifetime winter storm.

Places to the south of the Great Lakes will see the highest risk of disruptive ice from late on Wednesday into Thursday On the northern side of the storm, the precipitation will mainly be falling as snow but the most dangerous conditions are expected through portions of western Maryland,