Bone-chilling Arctic air gripped much of the eastern United States on Saturday, while lake-effect snow threatened to leave some areas “paralyzed” and disrupt post-holiday travel in parts of the Great Lakes region,

From Minnesota to Texas, temperatures were expected to drop by double-digits as cold air swept over the record-warm Great Lakes, bringing the season's first lake effect snowfall. Common in the winter in this region of the US and Canada, lake effect snow occurs when very cold air moves across the relatively warm water of the lakes.

Here's your full Power of 5 Weather Forecast for Cleveland, Akron, Mansfield, Sandusky, Ashtabula, and all of Northeast Ohio.

CBS New York meteorologist John Elliott said "very intense snow" will hit communities along the Great Lakes, Plans and Midwest regions as upwards of 6 feet of snow is forecast.

The Great Lakes region on Saturday began digging out from the season's first major snowstorm as the Midwest and Plains shivered under an arctic blast forecast to spread over the eastern third of the country.

The National Weather Service warned that severe winter conditions—triggered by an Arctic blast—could persist over the weekend into Monday.