Originally Published: 13 JAN 24 01:58 ET

Updated: 13 JAN 24 13:07 ET

By Susannah Cullinane, CNN

Editor's note: Editor’s Note: In the storm’s path? Bookmark CNN’s lite site for fast connectivity on low bandwidth.

(CNN) — A vicious storm that smacked the central and eastern US Friday will continue Saturday with heavy rain, snow and dangerous coastal flooding in New England; blizzard conditions from blowing snow in the Midwest; and snow off the Great Lakes, including the Buffalo area. Meanwhile, a brutal blast of Arctic air is spreading south and east through the central US on the heels of this storm. Here’s the latest.

Historic storm surge hits Maine: Water levels on Maine’s coast hit a historic high on Saturday, inundating coastal communities already swamped by record-breaking surges on Wednesday.

Flash flood warnings were issued by the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, as water levels rose on the coast Saturday morning and combined with falling rain to create a dangerous situation.

The water level in Portland topped 14 feet before noon, higher than the 13.84 feet hit on Wednesday, and higher than the previous record set in 1978, National Weather Service data shows.

The weather service warned ahead of the event to “expect to see water in areas that have never been inundated before.”

Portland police said on X that there were “too many” roads closed to list because of the flooding. Roads were also closed in coastal New Hampshire as water levels rose there, according to the state’s department of transportation.

The storm’s strong winds blew water from the Atlantic Ocean toward the shore on top of high tide. Heavy rain only exacerbates the flooding. The water and waves could cause major beach erosion and splash over, the weather service said.

Water levels should begin to drop in the coming hours.

Moderate coastal flooding was also reported in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island, NOAA data shows.

Coastal flood alerts remain in effect for several spots throughout the day Saturday for lingering flooding, with most set to expire by the end of the day.

Buffalo Bills playoff game postponed: The scheduled game between the Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers in Buffalo was moved from Sunday at 1 p.m. to Monday at 4:30 p.m. because of the “dangerous conditions,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on X Saturday.

“The decision to move the game to Monday was made in consultation with New York Governor Kathy Hochul in the best interest of public safety, and with the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers, as the region prepares for the storm,” an NFL statement read.

Strong winds from the storm blowing across an exceptionally warm, ice-free Lake Erie will produce heavy lake-effect snow through Monday morning. One to 3 feet of snow could fall, with the highest totals coming where the bands of snow persist the longest.

“Winds gusting as high as 65 mph early in the event will diminish somewhat late Saturday night. Blizzard conditions will be possible at times, especially Saturday night and Sunday,” the weather service in Buffalo said.

In Erie County, New York, which includes Buffalo, officials have declared a state of emergency starting Saturday due to the incoming storm and snow, county executive Mark Poloncarz announced.

Millions still under winter weather alerts Saturday: The alerts stretch from California to Maine because of multiple storm systems and the cold.

‘Life-threatening’ blizzard conditions: The vast majority of Iowa is under a blizzard warning into early Saturday evening as 6 to 10 inches of previous snowfall gets whipped by wind gusts of more than 40 mph. Back-to-back storms hammering the Midwest have resulted in the snowiest week for Des Moines since 1942.

The Iowa State Patrol responded to 355 motorist assist calls and 34 crashes by Friday afternoon as wintry conditions pounded the state, the agency said in a social media post.

The state’s transportation department and Des Moines police urged travelers to stay off roads amid “dangerous whiteout conditions, drifting snow and slick roads.”

In addition to dangerous travel conditions, blowing snow was “expected to significantly reduce visibility to near-whiteout conditions” into early Saturday, the National Weather Service in Des Moines warned. “The cold wind chills as low as 10 to 20 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes and could be potentially life-threatening if stranded outside.”

More than 450,000 homes and businesses in the dark: Widespread power outages stretched from the Great Lakes to the South Saturday after intense winds, severe thunderstorms and heavy snow walloped several states. Strong winds on the back side of the storm caused power outages to climb throughout the morning in the Great Lakes. As of 12 p.m. ET, Michigan had the most utility customers without power – more than 185,000 – followed by more than 90,000 customers cut off in Wisconsin.

Travel caution: The Weather Prediction Center warned Saturday morning that the back side of the winter storm would “maintain blizzard conditions and dangerous to impossible travel across parts of the Corn Belt through the Great Lakes” during the day. It said travel would also be made hazardous by heavy blowing snow and icing across the Great Basin and Pacific Northwest.

“Low temperatures approaching 40-50 below zero are not out of the question this morning over parts of Montana in the heart of the cold air, and numerous sub-zero low temperature records could fall today and tomorrow over the Northern and Central Plains,” the prediction center said.

“Including wind chill, temperatures will fall below minus 30 over a large area running from the northern Rockies to northern Kansas, with minus 50 possible across the Dakotas.”

Hundreds of record lows could be shattered: More than 240 daily cold temperature records could be tied or broken across the US through Tuesday.

Wind chills across parts of Montana could reach as low as -70 degrees this weekend. By Tuesday, the high temperature in Memphis, Tennessee, might reach only 17 degrees – which would set a new record.

Over the next week, more than 55 million people will endure temperatures below zero.

Bitter cold stretching to South by Sunday: In Louisiana, where at least 30,000 people are under a winter storm watch for a new storm, Gov. Jeff Landry announced a state of emergency in effect from Sunday through Wednesday.

Cold conditions, including light snow and freezing rain in northern Louisiana, will reach the state by Sunday and early next week, with temperatures expected to drop 20 to 30 degrees below normal.

A winter storm watch is also in effect for nearly all of Arkansas, where Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency Friday ahead of the bitter cold set to impact the state by Sunday. Temperatures will struggle to make it past the teens and low 20s for afternoon highs. For most of Arkansas, wind chills will be below zero, and as cold as -20 in northern parts of the state.

West not spared: The Weather Prediction Center warned Saturday that there was a threat of scattered flash flooding across portions of northern coastal California and Oregon.

“Periods of excessive rainfall rates will support rainfall totals of 3-5 inches through today,” it said. That area has a slight risk, or level 2 of 5, of excessive rainfall that could cause flash flooding Saturday, the center said.

Flights are grounded: More than 2,000 flights to, from or within the US were canceled Friday, the highest number since June 2023, according to FlightAware.com. The bulk of the cancellations came from Chicago, with 40% of departing flights at O’Hare and 60% at Midway canceled.

CNN’s Eric Zerkel, Taylor Ward, Mary Gilbert, Holly Yan, Robert Shackelford, Dave Alsup, Joe Sutton and Sara Smart contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire