A blast of cold air swept into the Midwest and Northeast behind an arctic cold front, bringing some cities their coldest temperatures so far this winter on Thursday and Friday,

This followed right behind a cold air mass that swept into the central and eastern United States behindearlier in the week.

Thursday and Friday: Widespread Subzero Cold

On-camera meteorologist Dave Schwartz of The Weather Channel said six states had at least one location reach 20 below zero or colder Thursday morning, Feb. 5: Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. The nation's cold spots, according to NOAA, were all in northern Minnesota: Crane Lake, Embarrass and Tower all hit 26 below zero, as did a site 25 miles east of Ely.

Subzero low temperatures were recorded in 16 states, Schwartz pointed out.

Among them, Lincoln, Nebraska, recorded a low of minus 16 degrees Thursday morning. That is the lowest temperature in Nebraska's capital city since it dipped to minus 18 degrees on Jan. 16, 2005.

A few cities also recorded their coldest readings so far this winter on Thursday morning, including two other state capitals:

Des Moines, Iowa, and Madison, Wisconsin, both recorded their lowest temperatures this season by dipping to minus 10 degrees.Toledo, while not the capital of Ohio, also dipped to minus 10 to set a new winter-to-date low.Omaha, Nebraska saw a low of minus 6 degrees Thursday morning, making it the coldest morning there so far this season. The season-to-date low was previously minus 4 degrees set on Jan. 13 and again this past Monday, Feb. 2.

The below-average low temperatures stretched across the East on Friday morning, Feb. 6. Temperatures to start Friday morning were in the single digits and below zero across a significant swath of the Northeast.

Friday morning Hartford, Connecticut, set a record low of minus 7 degrees and Watertown, New York set a record low of -22. Farther north, Burlington, Vermont, saw its coldest low so far this season by dipping to minus 14 degrees.

The nation's low Friday morning was 29 below zero at one of the Northeast's well-known winter cold spots, Saranac Lake, New York. Lows in the minus 20s were also noted at locations in four other states, including 20 below at Morrisville, Vermont, and North Adams, Massachusetts; 23 below in Fryeburg, Maine; and 27 below at Berlin and Whitefield in New Hampshire.

Early Week Cold Recap

On Groundhog Day, subzero temperatures were recorded during the morning as far south as northern Kansas and northern Missouri.

Omaha, Nebraska equaled its coldest temperature so far this winter with a low of 4 degrees below zero. This was later beaten by the second cold blast Thursday morning. The coldest spot in the Lower 48 was Embarrass, Minnesota, which dipped to 31 degrees below zero.

Residents of Upstate New York and northern New England woke up to subzero temperatures Tuesday morning. Along the I-95 corridor, lows ranged from the single digits in Boston to the teens in New York City. Wind chills were in the 20s below zero in northern Maine, while Boston and Albany, New York, both had wind chills in the teens below zero to start the morning.

It remained cold during the day Tuesday as high pressure built across the Northeast. Highs only reached the teens and 20s for most locations, with single digits and below zero high temperatures in northern New England. Parts of the Mid-Atlantic topped out in the 30s and 40s.

Meteorologist Chris Dolce contributed to this article.

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Pedestrians navigate the snow, ice and puddles along a Manhattan street on Feb. 2, 2015 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)