A strong October cold front has brought record freezing temperatures and wind chills as far south as the Gulf Coast and Florida.

IN FLORIDA, WINNING LOTTERY TICKET PURCHASED IN STORM-RAVAGED FORT MYERS

The cold air combined with a storm system lingering over the Great Lakes has brought historic snow to parts of the upper peninsula of Michigan. 

That snow threat will shift toward the eastern Great Lakes and interior Northeast through Friday.

Record warmth over the West – the Northwest in particular – will finally come to an end over the weekend, as a cold front ushers in much cooler air, rain and measurable mountain snow.