Firefighters put out a vehicle fire during the snowstorm Thursday, January 4, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Matt Rourke/AP

In photos: Brutal cold torments US

Firefighters put out a vehicle fire during the snowstorm Thursday, January 4, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Matt Rourke/AP

Blasts of Arctic air have brought record-low temperatures to much of the United States this week, and Mother Nature is only tightening her grip.

Every state on the East Coast, from Florida to Maine, had a severe weather alert of some kind Wednesday. Some parts of the South saw snow for the first time in decades, and a “bomb cyclone” brought heavy snow and high winds to the Northeast on Thursday.

Record lows could be set over the weekend along the East Coast, including in New York, Boston and Philadelphia.

New York has not gotten above freezing since Christmas, and its annual New Year’s Eve ball drop was the second-coldest on record.

Pedestrians struggle in blizzard conditions in downtown Boston on Thursday, January 4. Bill Greene/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

A thin layer of ice covers strawberry plants in Plant City, Florida, on Thursday, January 4. Growers spray water on plants to help protect them from extreme cold. Chris O’Meara/AP

JetBlue airplanes wait at the gates Thursday, January 4, outside a terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Rebecca Butala How/Getty Images

Waves crash against homes in Scituate, Massachusetts, on Thursday January 4. Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

Snow covers the gardens of Governors Island in New York Harbor on Friday, January 5. John Moore/Getty Images

Police officers work to clear a downed tree on Thursday, January 4, in Scituate, Massachusetts. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Pedestrians fight high winds and snow crossing the street in downtown Boston on Thursday, January 4. Michael Dwyer/AP

A sheet of ice covers a burned-out vehicle after an early morning fire Friday, January 5, in Newark, New Jersey. Julio Cortez/AP

Photo editors: Clint Alwahab and Bernadette Tuazon