A fierce Arctic blast of bitterly cold air is poised to overtake much of the central, eastern and southern U.S. over the next few days, dropping temperatures well below average.

An updated cold weather advisory was released by the NWS Greenville-Spartanburg SC on Wednesday at 9:03 p.m. valid from Thursday midnight until Friday 7 a.m. for Yancey and Mitchell counties.

The National Weather Service issued a cold weather advisory at 3:25 p.m. on Thursday in effect until Friday at 7 a.m. for Cambria and Somerset counties.

Some Californians are experiencing an unusual feeling, cold. Why is it so cold and what is the coldest the state has ever been?

On Wednesday at 11:02 p.m. EST the National Weather Service issued a cold weather advisory in effect until Thursday at 10 a.m. EST for Chippewa and Mackinac counties.

The University of Miami’s UHealth system says research shows that people’s immunity is affected by colder temperatures: “The germ-fighting cells in our noses — often our first line of response to the threat of a virus — don’t battle the intruder as well when the temperature drops.”