A new blast of Arctic air that will engulf the central and eastern states through the weekend made an impressive initial appearance in Montana on Tuesday.

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Tuesday's Temperatures

Thermometers in the northern Montana city of recorded an incredible temperature drop of nearly 40 degrees in just two hours.

At 3:53 p.m., on Tuesday, the temperature was 52 degrees—about 11 degrees above the average high for the day.

During the next hour, the Arctic cold front pushed through and dropped the temperature to 19 degrees by 4:53 p.m. At 5:53 p.m., it was a frigid 13 degrees, completing the near 40-degree drop in two hours.

Residents of the city woke up to a low of 4 degrees Wednesday morning and temperatures below zero on Thursday morning.

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Arctic Air Spreads Across the Country

Saturday's Highs

Sunday's Highs

As mentioned earlier, this arctic air that made an initial appearance in Montana on Tuesday is swiftly spreading south and east through the weekend.

Much of west Texas experienced a massive drop in temperatures on Thursday. , for example, hit 74 degrees on before tumbling into the mid 30sby the early evening.

Heading into Friday, the Front Range of the Rockies, the Plains and Upper Midwest will see well below-average temperatures.

By Saturday and Sunday, the colder-than-average temperatures will engulf the central and eastern states from and to and . Most cities will be anywhere from 10 to 25 degrees below average as we close out the weekend.

A few highlights of what to expect:

Midwest/Great Lakes: Highs will be in the teens and 20s in the Upper Midwest Saturday. These frigid temperatures will migrate to the Great Lakes on Sunday. Morning low temperatures will drop off into the single digits and teens. and may not get out of the 20sall weekend long.Northeast: Highs will only be in the 20s and 30s across the region on Sunday. The cold air will linger into Monday.South: Colder-than-average temperatures will progress slowly to the south and east Friday into Sunday. Highs in the 40s are expected in from Friday into early next week. Houston will hold in the 40sor low 50sSaturday into early next week. and can expect high temperatures to stay in the 40s Sunday through next Wednesday.

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MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Most Extreme Temperature Ranges By State

#50: Hawaii

Hawaii has the nation's narrowest temperature range of any state thanks to is tropical location surrounded by water. The state record high was set in April 1931, and the state record low was set in May 1979 at an elevation of 13,733 feet.