Weather Underground midday recap for Wednesday, January 23, 2013. More frigid air flowed into the northern portion of the country Wednesday, bringing starkly cold temperatures. Temperatures as low as -34 degrees were noted in parts of the Northeast, while areas of the Northern Plains and Minnesota struggled to reach 0 degrees in the afternoon. Elsewhere, afternoon temperatures in the 30s were noted as far south as Kentucky and northern North Carolina.

Along with the cold air, lake effect snow continue downwind of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, but this snow was not as intense as the past few days and gradually diminished throughout the day.

Meanwhile, a Pacific storm slammed into the West Coast, bringing rain and high elevation snow from Washington through central California. This precipitation was expected to move eastward into the afternoon and evening, ushering in more wet weather to the West. This wet weather will move into the Great Basin and Rockies Thursday.

The Northeast could only manage temperatures from the -0s through 20s, while the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest saw similar temperatures. The Southeast saw a range of temperatures from the 40s to the 70s, while the Southern Plains rose into the 60s and 70s.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Wednesday have ranged from a morning low of -34 degrees at Mt. Washington, N.H. to a midday high of 80 degrees at Brownsville, Texas