A blast of cold air is settling into the East Coast of the United States this week, even as people across the Great Lakes region continue digging out from a dayslong round of lake-effect snow that snarled Thanksgiving travel.

Temperatures were expected to drop to below freezing in every state east of the Mississippi River early Tuesday morning, and a few places may even set daily records for low temperatures. High temperatures will struggle to reach much higher through the day, with temperatures 10 to 20 degrees below normal. It is one of the first true blasts of cold for the Northeast, where fall has felt more like summer as recently as a few weeks ago — and temperatures later in the week may be even colder.

Though many places got a break from the heavy snow on Monday, winter storm alerts were still in effect Monday afternoon for portions of Southern Ontario in Canada and parts of Michigan, far northern Indiana, northeastern Ohio, northwestern Pennsylvania, and western and northern New York.

This weekend’s lake-effect snow event should start to wind down into Tuesday, but forecasters described it as more of a “regime change than a change in weather conditions.” A storm system called an “Alberta Clipper,” a meteorological name given to winter storms that begin in Alberta, Canada, and quickly slide through the Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the United States, is expected to move in. This transition from just lake-effect snow will bring a weather system that could affect a larger part of the region, including the higher elevations of the Northeast.

Clippers are common during winter and often have lighter snow amounts; however, like this storm, they bring stronger, gustier winds and colder air, potentially the most frigid air of the season so far. While some snow amounts could be lighter, reduced visibility from blowing snow is possible.