Bitter cold expected to hit much of the U.S. just before Christmas

Freezing temperatures and heavy snow are expected to hit large swaths of the U.S. in the week leading up to Christmas, leading to dangerous conditions and possibly disrupting travel for millions.

"We're looking at much-below normal temperatures, potentially record-low temperatures leading up to the Christmas holiday," said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The polar air arrives as an earlier storm system gradually winds down in the northeastern U.S. after burying parts of the region under two feet (61 centimeters) of snow. More than 80,000 customers in New England were still without power on Sunday morning, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks outages across the country.