Reporters Greg Allen and Ava Berger write on npr.org:
A massive winter storm system is forecast to sweep the country this weekend, stretching from Central Texas through the Northeast.
The National Weather Service says the system will dump heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain from the Southern Plains to the Mid-South starting Friday. The storm is expected to move across the East Coast throughout the weekend, according to a bulletin from the NWS posted on Wednesday.
The NWS warned of “treacherous travel conditions, prolonged power outages, and tree damage,” across the southeast U.S.
Government officials in these areas are asking residents to avoid traveling and prepare for possible power outages.
A blast of cold air from Canada will mix with warmer air from the south, bringing significant snow and ice accumulations, forecasters said.
The NWS warns that wind chill temperatures may fall below -50 °F (-45 °C) across the Northern Plains (parts of North Dakota and Minnesota). Those in Texas to North Carolina could feel wind chills below 0 °F (-17 °C).
[Graphic from nytimes.com]