A major winter storm will deal the most significant blow of this winter yet

A major winter storm will bring heavy snow, dangerous ice, rain and severe thunderstorms to more than 1,300 miles of the United States over the weekend and into next week.

So far this winter, snow and ice in the eastern two-thirds of the country has been limited to the northern states. But this storm will break that mold and bring dangerous conditions to millions of people from the Plains to the East Coast, even in areas less prone to winter weather.

And where it’s too warm for snow and ice, the storm could bring severe thunderstorms, even in some of the same areas still recovering from deadly December storms.

According to the Winter Storm Severity Index, significant impacts, including “substantial disruptions to daily life… hazardous or impossible driving conditions and widespread closures,” are expected from this storm through Sunday in parts of the central U.S.

It all begins Saturday afternoon as the storm develops over the Plains, driven by a deep surge of moist air moving north from the Gulf of Mexico. It will begin spreading snow, rain and an icy mix over the plains later in the day as it strengthens and expands.

From there it will move eastward and spread a winter disaster across the Mississippi Valley and parts of the Midwest on Sunday morning. The storm will expand into the Ohio Valley and Southeast on Sunday and toward the East Coast Sunday night and Monday.

The regions most at risk are clear, but it’s still incredibly difficult to determine exactly who gets snow, ice or mostly rain, and how much. Small changes in the storm’s track could change the results completely. Some areas may start as snow but change to a freezing mix as warmer air enters the area, while other areas start as rain or a freezing mix and gradually change to snow.

This storm will be capable of unleashing more than a foot of snow and enough ice to knock out power just as the coldest temperatures of the season reach your step.

Snow will bury some areas

The storm will dump several inches of snow Saturday night into Monday in a swath stretching from parts of Kansas and Nebraska to the East Coast.

The greatest amounts of snow will accumulate in the coldest areas, likely parts of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia. Totals will be lower in areas where warmer air generates sleet and ice instead of snow.

St. Louis has only seen four days where more than a foot of snow fell in one day, a feat that could happen Sunday. Snow totals could range from an inch to more than a foot in parts of Missouri, depending on the exact track of the storm. This could also be the case in other states with higher chances of snow.

Unlike other storms this winter, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and upstate New York could see little to no snow due to the storm’s further southward track. Some lake effect snow is possible in Michigan and New York as wind directions change before and after the storm.

Treacherous ice to come

The greatest risk of dangerous icing will occur just south of the snowiest areas. Significant icing is possible from Kansas and Missouri to the central Appalachians and potentially parts of Maryland and Delaware.

Travel could be “nearly impossible” in areas with the most ice formation, several National Weather Service offices warned.

Ice amounts of 0.25 inches or more are possible, especially in parts of southern Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana and most of Kentucky.

Any amount of ice is dangerous; Just a thin coat (a light glaze just over 0.10 inches) can turn paved surfaces into skating rinks, causing people to slip and vehicles to spin out of control.

The thicker the ice, the worse its impact. Heavy ice (0.25 inches or more) weighs down trees and power lines and can break branches or down power lines. Large amounts of ice could also completely immobilize travel by making roads impassable.

An ice storm that hit the central U.S. in January of last year left thousands without power and sent out first responders. spinning out of control as they tried to reach people in danger.

Power outages could be widespread and long-lasting if significant icing occurs and power restoration crews are unable to navigate dangerous roads. That situation could be dangerous or life-threatening for those without access to heat in the extreme cold ahead.

Damaging storms and torrential rain

The warmer southern side of the storm will spread showers and some embedded thunderstorms over much of the South. Some of these storms could become severe, especially Sunday afternoon.

According to the Storm Prediction Center, there is a Level 2 of 5 threat for severe thunderstorms for parts of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi on Sunday.

The most likely threats from any severe thunderstorm are damaging wind gusts and hail, but tornadoes are also possible. TO tornado outbreakincluding several EF3s, shook parts of the south in late December.

Rain and storms could also cause flooding, especially where the heaviest rain falls in the southeast.

The massive storm will finally move off the East Coast on Monday night and its impact will completely subside overnight.

But Tuesday presents a new problem: the arctic cold. Temperatures will fall as much as 30 degrees below normal across the eastern two-thirds of the U.S., and frigid air will last through at least mid-January, trapping snow and ice that falls from the storm.

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