A deep freeze across the South, a spreading heat wave in the West and a trail of high winds and downpours leaving the East are in the forecast on March 17 after a weekend of bizarre weather across the country.
On the heels of a major storm that delivered downpours, high winds and thunderstorms along the U.S. East Coast, the National Weather Service is predicting a "quieter" period of weather for many. Still, an early heat wave is making it feel like summer in Southern California, and temperatures in the triple digits will spread across the Desert Southwest by the middle of the week.
"Temperatures this hot so early in the year could shatter high temperatures records by as much as 10 degrees," the weather service said.
As the heat dome spreads, over 70 million people could be impacted and put a strain on water resources, reported AccuWeather.
The extreme opposite is happening in the Deep South the morning of March 17: More than 53 million Americans awoke to a freeze warning blanketing states in a stretch from east Texas to South Carolina.
