Deadly Arctic blast breaks records set more than 100 years ago

It was literally freezing in Florida and Alabama while parts of Maine, Michigan and New York were digging out from a foot of snow Wednesday as a historically early and deadly Arctic air mass gripped much of nation.

Records, some dating back more than 100 years, were toppled as the front continued its ferocious roll for a third day.

The entire state of Alabama was under a freeze warning as temperatures dipped into the 20s and below, breaking records at more than 100 locations. The National Weather Service in Mobile citing the "widespread, significant freeze" for Alabama and Florida's Panhandle, urged residents to protect exposed pipes, keep pets warm and check on neighbors.

In Florida, the average low temperature for November in Pensacola is 50 degrees. It was 20 degrees colder Wednesday morning.

"30 here near Pensacola Beach," tweeted resident Robert Pooley. "Hate it!"

Also in Florida:Red tide, the toxic algae bloom that kills wildlife, returns to gulf beaches

Record lows were recorded Wednesday morning from Birmingham, Alabama, to Burlington, Vermont. Birmingham's low of 18 degrees bested by 4 degrees a record that stood since 1911.

New York City and Buffalo, New York, as well as parts of Ohio, have set records. In Kansas alone, at least six cities, including Wichita, set cold records for the date Tuesday.

In Missouri, St. Louis dropped to 11 degrees, breaking a record for the date that stood for more than 100 years.

It snowed in Texas just 60 miles from the Mexican border – and more intensely farther north. Parts of Michigan were digging out from up to 30 inches of snow. Buffalo set records with more than 11 inches. Parts of Maine and Vermont were hit with a foot of snow as the system roared into its third day.

“Visibility dropped as low as one-fourth of a mile at times ... as heavy lake-effect snow squalls continued moving through northeastern Ohio,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Derek Witt said.

In Michigan, the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office said two women, ages 81 and 64, and a 57-year-old man were killed Monday in a two-vehicle crash on snowy, icy roads. In Kansas, the Highway Patrol said an 8-year-old girl died in a three-vehicle wreck.

Authorities in Ohio were investigating two fatal wrecks on snowy roads, and a passenger bus toppled on its side in Syracuse, New York, although no serious injuries were reported.

How often should you start my car in cold weather? Answer: Don't

Record-challenging low temperatures were everywhere. Single-digit temperatures descended on much of the Midwest, where Detroit sank to 7 degrees, breaking a record of 12 degrees for the day.

Cristen Hamilton, who lives in Chicago’s northside neighborhood of Lakeview, had no problems with the early winter weather.

“I’m a transplant from Northern California, so I think it’s fantastic," she said. "I’m very happy with Chicago at 20 degrees."

Drastically colder than normal temperatures stretched all the way to the Atlantic Coast. Temperatures dipped into the low 20s in Atlanta and in Jackson, Mississippi. Similar numbers swept across the East Coast – New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C.

Many of these cities often see temperatures that low, just not very often two weeks before Thanksgiving, said AccuWeather meteorologist Tyler Roys.

"We will be challenging records everywhere," he said.

Contributing: Grace Hauck, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

'Brutal' Arctic blast affecting 200 million people:And it isn't over yet