Cold blankets the U.S.

Gallery: Ducks sit on sea ice in Boston Harbor, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, in Boston. After a week of frigid temperatures, a major winter storm is predicted for the region on Thursday.

Gallery: In this Monday, Jan. 1, 2018 photo, Marvin Pena stands during the annual Polar Bear Dip in 37-degree Fahrenheit water at Auke Recreation Beach in Juneau, Alaska, on Monday, Jan. 1, 2018. Dozens of Juneau residents gathered for what has become a chilling traditional start to the new year. The annual Polar Bear Dip tradition began in 1992 when a group of friends wanted to find a new and "invigorating" way to ring in the year, the event's website says.

Gallery: Ice forms on a breakwall along Lake Erie with the city of Cleveland in the background, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, in Cleveland.

Gallery: A large layer of ice covers the water along the shore of the Raritan Bay near the pier at Jersey Shore Beach and Boardwalk, Wednesday, seen from Union Beach, N.J.

Gallery: Palm trees are seen through a windshield covered with raindrops near the Jacksonville Beach Pier in the first wave of weather that was to turn colder as the day went on, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2017, in Jacksonville, Fla. Rain and cold temperatures hit the Jacksonville area this morning and could turn icy .

Gallery: In this image taken with a fisheye lens, icicles hang from rock along an interstate Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. Dangerously cold temperatures have gripped wide swaths of the U.S. from Texas to New England.

Gallery: Icicles hang from a street sign, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, in Savannah, Ga. Overnight freezing rain was followed by snow in late Wednesday morning.

Gallery: Paul Neuhaus, with the City of Dubuque's parks division, floods a rink at Allison-Henderson Park in Dubuque, Iowa, on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018.

Gallery: Mirni Dulany, 10, gets a taste of the snowflakes as they fall Wednesday morning near her home at Monterey Square in Savannah, Ga., Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018.