01:30 Rough for Homeless Family in the Cold Below freezing temperatures are tough on just about everyone, but The Weather Channel correspondent Raegan Medgie reports what it is like for a homeless family.

Residents in much of the central and eastern United States have been shivering for more than a week with several waves of arctic air surging across the country.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://s.w-x.co/staticmaps/DCT_SPECIAL84_485x273.jpg" srcset="https://s.w-x.co/staticmaps/DCT_SPECIAL84_485x273.jpg 400w, https://s.w-x.co/staticmaps/DCT_SPECIAL84_485x273.jpg 800w" > Current Wind Chills (North)

The coldest air since last January's so-called "polar vortex" event reached the Gulf Coast and East Coast this past Thursday, bringing record lows to about two dozen cities and affecting more than half the U.S. population.

(MORE: Polar Vortex Facts and Myths )

Then, a third surge of arctic air entered the Northern Plains states and reinforced the frigid feel over much of the Midwest and Northeast Friday into Saturday.

While the week ahead will eventually offer some moderating temperatures, we'll have to deal with one more blast of chilly air first.

How Long Will the Cold Last?

On Monday, high temperatures are expected to be 10 to 20 degrees below average from the Dakotas, Montana and Minnesota to north Texas. The cold air mass will surge eastward into the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes and Northeast through Tuesday.

(INTERACTIVE MAP: Current Temperatures )

Subzero lows will grip much of the Upper Midwest again Tuesday morning. Parts of the Great Lakes and interior Northeast could see lows in the single digits above and below zero both Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Wednesday through Friday, temperatures will finally moderate east of the Rockies.

In fact, highs will rise above average across a large portion of the Midwest by late in the week. Some locations could have high tempreatures around 10 degrees above average compared to mid-January averages, including Minneapolis , Omaha, Nebraska and Fargo, North Dakota .

(FORECAST: 10-Day Forecast Maps )

Minneapolis could rise above freezing (32 degrees) late this week for the first time since January 3.

NOAA's 6-to-10-day outlook, issued Sunday and valid for Jan. 17-21, says above-average temperatures are fairly likely across the entire Lower 48 during that time frame.

Polar Plunge "Lowlights" So Far

The first cold blast moved in behind Winter Storm Frona and began in the Plains last Sunday, when highs were below freezing as far south as Amarillo, Texas.

This blast spread east into the Midwest and Northeast last Monday. Practically all of North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin started with subzero lows Monday morning, with 20s below zero in northern Minnesota. The nation's low Monday was 29 below zero in the remote northern Minnesota hamlet of Togo.

At such low temperatures, even a puff of wind is enough to send feels-like temperatures – or wind chills – plummeting. The airport at Grand Marais, Minnesota, reported a wind chill of -50 late last Sunday night. Several other locations, including International Falls, Minnesota, and Rhinelander, Wisconsin, had wind chills in the 40s below zero that evening and the following early Monday morning.

High temperatures last Monday were some 25 degrees below average for parts of the Upper Midwest, even as temperatures continued climbing in many areas after sunset. Highs failed to rise above zero in Thief River Falls, Minnesota (-4), Rhinelander, Wisconsin (-3) and near Marquette, Michigan (0). The average high in Marquette for January 5 is 22 degrees.

Much of the Northeast faced a nasty about-face in the weather after widespread highs in the 50s and 60s last Sunday. In Pittsburgh, where the 10 a.m. temperature was 60 degrees last Sunday, the thermometer reading was just 18 at the same time this past Monday.

(MORE: Expert Analysis | Winter Storm Central )

Echoes of this first cold surge were still being felt last Tuesday, especially in northern New England. Caribou, Maine, only reached an afternoon high of 2 below zero, following a morning low of 15 below. Bangor, Maine set a daily record low of 13 below zero.

Last Wednesday morning brought a new surge of chill to the Midwest. Grand Marais, Minnesota, was again among the leaders on the wind chill board, registering a wind chill of 54 below zero. The nation's low temperature was logged near Poplar, Montana, where the thermometer hit 30 below.

High temperatures were well below average in parts of the Midwest last Wednesday. In many cases, the high temperatures last Wednesday were the midnight temperatures at the beginning of the day; for instance, Chicago 's temperature was 6 degrees at midnight, but the city only peaked at 2 degrees during the afternoon hours before slipping below zero in the evening. The average high in Chicago for this date is 31.

Chicago has not had a subzero high since January 6 of last year.

More subzero temperatures also arrived for Minneapolis . The coldest temperature so far this season (prior to this past week) had been 7 degrees below zero, but low temperatures plunged to 11 degrees below zero in the Twin Cities last Monday morning. Last Wednesday's morning low was 9 below zero.

The Twin Cities briefly touched the 0-degree mark last Wednesday, avoiding a subzero high. In 2014 there were three days with highs below zero, all in January.

Since 1873, the Twin Cities have averaged four days of subzero highs each year, but climate change has reduced that figure to two days per year over the past three decades.

Last Thursday morning brought wind chills as low as 44 below zero in Greenville, Maine, while much of northern New England saw wind chills in the minus 30s. Chicago's wind chill reached a bitter 29 below zero.

On top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, infamous for its extreme weather, observers calculated a wind chill of 80 degrees below zero just before 1 a.m. last Thursday. The temperature was 33 below zero with a 58-mph sustained wind at that time.

According to meteorologist Dave Schwartz of The Weather Channel, subzero temperatures were recorded in parts of 26 states last Thursday morning. The nation's low – not factoring in wind chill – was 38 below zero at Estcourt Station, Maine, which happens to be the northernmost point in New England.

Boston dipped to its coldest reading so far this season, with a low of minus 1, early Thursday morning.

(NEWS: How the Arctic Blast is Affecting You )

Late last Wednesday night a record low of 27 below zero was set in Watertown, New York, breaking the previous record of minus 20 set in 1986. The city went on to reach 32 below zero Thursday morning, but that wasn't enough to set a record for Jan. 8.

Record lows that were broken this past Thursday morning included:

Montpelier, Vermont set a record low of 20 degrees below zero

Jackson, Kentucky set a record low at 1 degree below zero

Charlotte, North Carolina tied its record low of 8 degrees

Fayetteville, North Carolina set a record low of 13 degrees

Pensacola, Florida set a record low with 19 degrees

Greenwood, Mississippi set a record low of 10 degrees

Columbus, Georgia tied a record low of 13 degrees

Baton Rouge, Louisiana tied a record low of 20 degrees

Pensacola, Florida set a record low of 19 degrees

Mobile, Alabama set a record low of 17 degrees, which broke the previous record of 18 set back in 1886.

The South didn't miss out on the chill. The wintry chill plunged all the way to the Gulf Coast, sending low temperatures into the 20s as far south as New Orleans and San Antonio Thursday morning.

Temperatures in Atlanta dropped to 11 degrees on Thursday morning; the city squeaked just one degree above freezing that afternoon.

A trace of snow was even reported in Jacksonville, Florida and a record cold high temperature was tied with a high of only 40 degrees.

Subzero cold occurred as far south as the mountains of North Carolina and parts of central Missouri Thursday morning. The low reached 16 below zero atop Mount Mitchell in North Carolina; in Highlands, just north of the Georgia border, the mercury reached 4 below. Rolla, Missouri, about halfway between St. Louis and Springfield, dipped to 1 below zero.

The lowest temperature so far this season in Nashville had been 18 on Nov. 19. This has easily been beaten, with an official temperature of 4 degrees at 5 a.m. Thursday. Last Wednesday's high was only 27 in Nashville, and Thursday stayed below freezing as well, topping out at 30.

A third surge of bitter cold swept into the Upper Midwest Thursday night into Friday and into the Northeast Friday night and into Saturday.

(MAPS: The Typical Coldest Time of the Year )

Highs Saturday never got above 23 degrees in New York City on Saturday, rivaling the high of 21 recorded in the Big Apple on Thursday. The city was below freezing from Monday evening until Friday afternoon.

Chicago dipped to a low of 2 below zero on Saturday morning, making it the sixth day in a row with low temperatures zero degrees or lower.

The cold air has also caused lake-effect snow to develop at times last week in the Great Lakes region .

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: January 2015 Cold Outbreak