ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An explosive storm surpassing the intensity of 2012’s Superstorm Sandy is expected to reach Alaska’s western Aleutian Islands over the weekend and bring unseasonably frigid temperatures to much of the United States next week, weather forecasters said Thursday.

What remains of Typhoon Nuri is moving northeast from off the Japanese coast and is mixing with cold air and the jet stream, which will give it the power to produce hurricane-force winds and waves 50 feet high. It could arrive late Friday or Saturday before weakening in the Bering Sea, the National Weather Service said.

The storm potentially could be one of the most intensive to ever hit the North Pacific, weather service forecaster Brian Hurley said. The Coast Guard and Alaska state emergency responders were keeping a close eye on its strength.

The system is expected to push cold air into much of the continental United States next week, forecaster Bob Oravec said. By the weekend, high temperatures in Minneapolis will only reach the upper 20s, and mid-30s are expected in Chicago – more than 15 degrees below normal.

Snow also is coming to areas including the northern Rockies and northern Plains. “It looks like winter’s starting early,” Oravec said.