By Thursday, Massachusetts residents can expect to feel temperatures in the mid-to-upper 20s in most of the state, with temperatures in the 30s on the coast, and on Cape Cod and the Islands, according to the National Weather Service.

We're tracking a few snow opportunities in Massachusetts this week, including snow squalls Tuesday and up to 5 inches on Wednesday.

Boston and the rest of New England have been dealing with well below-average temperatures, in some cases falling 20 degrees, as an expansive mass of Arctic air spreads across the eastern half of the United States. This cold surge is making our region this week feel colder than Anchorage, Alaska, which is topping out at 36 degrees.

The National Weather Service issued advisories for the Boston area, forecasting overnight snow that could reach 3 inches.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for the Sacramento area until Sunday at 4 p.m., with wind gusts up to 55 mph and a 70% chance of rain, and the Placerville area expecting 4 to six inches of snow.

A pair of quick-moving weather systems will sweep through the Great Lakes, New England and the Northeast. Travel could become challenging at times. Let's break it down.

Brace yourselves. What's likely to be the coldest weather of the season will roll into Southern New England early next week.

The coldest temperature ever recorded was Feb. 9, 1934, when it fell to 17 degrees below zero, according to National Weather Service records, which go back to 1904. More: How much snow did Rhode Island get? See snowfall totals for Providence, Newport, Warwick

While a weekend winter storm still remains uncertain, forecasters believe a cold air mass could bring temperatures down to between 10 and 15 degrees early next week.

The heaviest snow will fall in the higher terrain of New England and the Appalachians. Some 5-10 inches of snow is possible in those areas. The bigger cities along Interstate 95 are more likely to see 2-6 inches with heavier totals to the north and west of downtown in each of the cities from DC to Boston.

A Ware, Massachusetts, resident said she was home and her whole house was shaking for about 10 seconds from what she at first believed was an 18-wheeler coming down Route 9.

A forecast map suggested the areas most likely to see snow squalls included New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and a northeastern part of Ohio. The NWS said probability of snow squalls was greater than 60 percent.