A massive cold storm carrying snow and ice is likely to strike nearly 30 states of United States in the coming days. According to the BBC News, around 160 million people will be affected due to this adverse weather, which is predicted to bury the US in snow.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a "life-threatening cold air" warning, which will flow from the High Plains and Rockies in an eastward direction from Friday, January 23. The temperature is likely to dip below freezing point in some areas, say weather experts.
Some areas in the US are already facing snowfall, including the Great Lakes, which span the US-Canada border, said NWS. Airport officials warned of major disruptions in services during the upcoming weekend as a severe weather system moves across the US.
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The snowfall is likely to fall in major US states such as Texas and New Mexico before moving eastward, blanketing cities including Memphis, Nashville, Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York with snow, according to BBC News.
The coldest winds may cause the temperature go below -46 degrees Celsius across the Northern Plains, with a much wider area of the south-eastern US also experiencing sub-zero chills, NWS said. Such cold winds may cause hypothermia and frostbite to exposed skin, warned NWS.
Weather experts predicted that some areas would see over 12inches of snowfall. Some states may experience freezing rainfall, which could cover trees with a blanket of ice. There will be changes in power outages during this period of time.