Temperatures are expected to plummet over the weekend, bringing life-threatening conditions to large stretches of the United States. The polar vortex will send temperatures below freezing for much of the country starting this weekend and stretching into next week,

As the cold front moved southward Tuesday, it prompted a cold weather advisory for the Gulf Coast and pushed temperatures below freezing in El Paso, Texas.

However, a deep freeze, thanks to the polar vortex dipping down from Siberia, is about to bring even harsher arctic blast to nearly 300 million Americans starting this weekend. Maps show where and when the cold front will arrive.