Tens of millions of Americans awoke on Jan. 22 to some form of winter weather alert, as a winter storm takes shape in the southwestern U.S. and threatens to spread huge totals of snow and freezing rain from New Mexico to New England over the next few days.
The major storm is set to hit starting on Jan. 23 and will stretch into the weekend, spreading snow and ice from the southern Plains to the Northeast, according to forecasters. The National Weather Service said the system is expected to move across the East Coast through the weekend.
"This will be a large and potentially historic storm, with major impacts over a very large area (more than 2 dozen states)," said AccuWeather meteorologist Bob Larson in an email to USA TODAY.
While snow is expected all the way from the Southwest to the Northeast, and everywhere in between, Larson said there is potential for portions of Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia to receive up to 24 inches of snow or more.
"It should also be pointed out that freezing rain will cause major impacts (power outages, and extensive travel delays for all forms of transportation)," he said. "The greatest risk of a major ice storm will extend from Texas to the Carolinas."
