(CNN) We're still 38 days from the official start of winter, but Mother Nature doesn't care.

Hundreds of million of people were grappling with bone-chilling weather Wednesday as an Arctic blast grips the eastern two-thirds of the US.

Photos: Arctic blast brings record-breaking cold Photos: Arctic blast brings record-breaking cold Snow falls at Chicago's O'Hare Airport on Monday, November 11. Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: Arctic blast brings record-breaking cold A woman walks in Philadelphia on Wednesday, November 13. Hide Caption 2 of 9 Photos: Arctic blast brings record-breaking cold Homeless people spend the night in the lobby of the Hamilton County Jail in Cincinnati. Sheriff Jim Neil opened up the lobby to use as a temporary cold shelter. Hide Caption 3 of 9 Photos: Arctic blast brings record-breaking cold Snow falls around Willie Stargell's statue outside PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, November 12. Hide Caption 4 of 9 Photos: Arctic blast brings record-breaking cold Bill Langley shovels snow from a sidewalk in Stowe, Vermont, on November 12. Hide Caption 5 of 9 Photos: Arctic blast brings record-breaking cold A man walks across the icy Legislative Plaza in Nashville, Tennessee, on November 12. Hide Caption 6 of 9 Photos: Arctic blast brings record-breaking cold Pedestrians walk in downtown Chicago on Monday, November 11. Hide Caption 7 of 9 Photos: Arctic blast brings record-breaking cold Snow covers graves at the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan, on November 11. Hide Caption 8 of 9 Photos: Arctic blast brings record-breaking cold A cyclist braves the roads in Detroit on November 11. Hide Caption 9 of 9

"Freeze warnings continue into the Deep South, with freezing temperatures in Florida this morning," CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen said.

The widespread bitter cold peaked in the morning, when at 7:45 a.m. ET more than 232 million people were in areas 32 degrees or lower. Hundreds of temperature records were set.

The deep freeze is wreaking havoc on travel and has contributed to at least five deaths.

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