A powerful winter storm is set to sweep across much of the US this weekend, bringing potentially record-breaking cold, heavy snow, and ice that forecasters warn could cause hazardous conditions, potential power outages, and travel disruptions. The storm is expected to bring "widespread heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain" from the south Rockies and plains into the mid-south, beginning on Friday, before spreading east to the mid-Atlantic and New England areas this weekend. The impact in New England may linger into Monday. Heavy snow is likely across a broad region from the southern Rockies and plains through the mid-Atlantic and into the northeast, with snowfall totals exceeding 12 inches becoming more probable in localized areas. Weather officials have also warned of "widespread freezing rain and sleet" in parts of the southern plains, lower Mississippi valley, Tennessee valley, the southeast, and southern Virginia. "Significant and damaging ice accumulations" are likely, as well as the potential for power outages, tree damage, and dangerous travel conditions. The freezing rain and sleet are expected in areas of the southern plains and lower Mississippi valley on Friday, shifting east into parts of the southeast, Tennessee valley, and mid-Atlantic this weekend. Widespread travel disruptions are anticipated, and the "extremely cold air behind the storm will prolong hazardous travel and infrastructure impacts." Weather officials are warning of bitterly cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills that are expected to spread across the central and eastern US by the end of this week. The cold air is expected to spread into the northern and central plains, Midwest, and Great Lakes on Thursday, before pushing into the southern plains, Mississippi valley, and Midwest by Thursday night. Officials have noted that the expected wind chills could "pose a life-threatening risk of hypothermia and frostbite to exposed skin." In New York, weather officials have said that the winter storm is likely to arrive on Saturday, with snow potentially starting as early as Saturday night and the heaviest snow falling on Sunday into Sunday evening. Between eight and 16 inches of snow is expected for parts of the New York region. As of Thursday morning, winter storm watches have been issued by the National Weather Service for the next few days in parts of Louisiana, Maryland, Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Mexico, Kansas, Illinois, New York, and more. Winter storm warnings have been issued for parts of New York, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas starting Friday. In preparation for the expected winter storm, governors including South Carolina's Henry McMaster, Georgia's Brian Kemp, Texas's Greg Abbott, and North Carolina's Josh Stein have declared states of emergency to activate state emergency response resources. Other governors, including West Virginia's Patrick Morrisey and Maryland's Wes Moore, have declared a "state of preparedness." Alex Lamers, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center, told the New York Times that a storm like this was "not something you see every winter," adding that the upcoming storm was "likely to affect about half the US population with accumulating ice, sleet, or snow."
