A blast of Arctic air is set to cover much of the United States with temperatures below freezing starting on Friday and into next week, impacting millions of Americans in nearly all of the contiguous states.

Snow and winds are likely to trigger flight cancellations and cause headaches for people traveling to DC for Inauguration Day.

Americans were bracing Thursday for frigid temperatures that forecasters said could produce life-threatening conditions, with Donald Trump's inauguration expected to be the coldest in 40 years.