A cold front marched eastward across the United States on Friday, threatening to bring heavy rain and thunderstorms from Florida to the Northeast and snow to New England.

It was part of a broad storm blamed for at least three deaths as it moved across the nation earlier in the week.

The system will bring much cooler temperatures to the East Coast during the weekend, forecasters at the National Weather Service said.

“Mixed wintry weather is also expected for parts of the Great Lakes and into northern New England, where the air is cold enough for that,” the forecasters said.

The storm brought heavy snow to Colorado, South Dakota and Minnesota earlier in the week. In Nebraska, the state patrol said 37-year-old Lisa Conrad, of Berea, died from exposure Tuesday after abandoning her disabled car and trying to walk to her home a mile away during a blinding snowstorm.

The system spun off a tornado that killed one person and injured five in Mississippi on Thursday, and brought, hail, damaging winds and twisters to Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.

High winds and heavy wet snow downed power lines in several states, and outages persisted Friday in nearly every state from Missouri eastward.

A utility worker in Ameren, Miss., was electrocuted Thursday while helping restore power knocked out by the storm in the St. Louis area, the company said.

Missouri was hardest hit with about 5,000 electrical customers without service Friday, while 3,000 were without power in North Carolina, utility companies said.

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At least one person died Monday after a blast of wintry weather caused dangerous conditions on city roads.

Seven others were injured, the New York Post reported.

A 27-year-old man died about 7:15 p.m. when he lost control of his 2007 Nissan Murano and struck a tree, police said. He was driving eastbound on Francis Lewis Boulevard in the Cambria Heights section of Queens. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident is believed to have been caused by the weather, the Post reports.

A three-car pileup in the Bronx injured another seven people. The accident occurred on the 145th Street bridge by Harlem River Drive in the Bronx about 6:40 p.m. The injuries were not life-threatening.

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Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a state of emergency late this afternoon regarding Winter Storm Nemo.

“As this winter storm unfolds, bringing heavy snow and high winds to parts of the state, I strongly urge all New Yorkers to exercise caution, avoid travel, and stay indoors,” Cuomo said.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned New Yorkers to stay off the streets today as Winter Storm Nemo arrives in the city.

Snow began this morning, which has since turned into heavy rain and will morph back into snow sometime between 3 and 7 p.m., he said.

The mayor advised New Yorkers to opt for a warm Friday night at home.

“Stay off the city streets,” he said.

He even had a few suggestions.

“Tonight, what’s a good idea?” he said. “Cook a meal, stay home, read a good book, watch a movie. Just take it easy.”

Bloomberg said he met with Sanitation Department officials this morning, checking equipment. Sanitation workers are on 12-hour shifts, he said, with about 1,700 snowplows and 450 salt spreaders.

“They had one plow that if we had 10 feet of snow, it would blast right through it,” he said, adding, “I don’t think we’re going to need that one.”

The FDNY also has dispatched 100 extra ambulances, he said.

“You can’t take nature too lightly,” Bloomberg said. “It’s certainly not going to be a Hurricane Sandy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get badly hurt or killed if you’re not careful.”

As for his plans? “I will be home tonight,” he confirmed, elaborating, “Will I cook or get something from the Greek diner down the corner? I haven’t thought about that yet.”

The NYPD asked New Yorkers today not to call 911 for downed trees, blocked driveways or other non-life threatening conditions, instructing instead to dial 311.

The major winter storm with dangerous winds is expected to barrel through the Northeast tonight, and could drop more than a foot of snow on the city.

The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for New York City, Long Island, northeast New Jersey, southern Westchester County, and large parts of New England.

Original forecasts had indicated that the city could get approximately six to eight inches of snow, but officials now say 12 to 20 inches of snow is possible for the city, with wind gusts exceeding 60 mph, according to The Wall Street Journal. More than two feet of snow is likely for much of New England.

Coastal areas of the city could see storm surges of three to five feet.

More than 2200 flights have been canceled and Amtrak has suspended some service northbound service out of New York and southbound service out of Boston, The New York Times reports.

Snow is expected to fall heaviest tonight into tomorrow morning.

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