Freezing temps, heavy snow expected for millions of people in central and eastern US this weekend

Travel disruptions, power outages, and frigid temperatures are expected to affect 150 million Americans on Friday and through the weekend as a massive storm clobbers the U.S. with heavy snow and freezing rain from the Central Plains to the East Coast, the National Weather Service said.

The storm, which could impact nearly half the country's population, will bring up to 20 inches (50.8 cm) of snow in the Appalachians and West Virginia mountains, while most people living in the eastern U.S. could face dangerous slick or frozen roads and potential power outages from ice-laden trees and branches falling and snapping power lines, officials said.

"With the extreme cold in the North and the storm, half of all Americans are under some form of weather advisories," said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the NWS's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.

New York City, Boston, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. could see 4 to 10 inches of heavy, wet snow starting on Saturday, Hurley said, with temperatures in the low 20s Fahrenheit in D.C. with Boston seeing a low of 7 degrees Fahrenheit (-14 C).

Throughout the storm, New York state was expected to be under a "Code Blue", which requires social service providers to extend shelter hours and ensure the homeless have access to them.

Chicago braces for sub-zero cold

Chicago will see a "deep freeze," according to Hurley, with a low of 2 degrees below zero on Friday and Saturday and dangerous wind chills of 30 below zero.

Space heaters have been flying off the shelves all week at J.C. Licht Ace Hardware River North in Chicago, according to manager James Martin.

Chicagoans know how to deal with extreme cold, said Martin, a Chicago native. "We move fast and we dress in layers and layers and more layers. Then we ask, 'Why do we still live here?"

In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency, activating extra personnel and equipment to help control traffic, monitor power outages, rescue people trapped by the storm, and more. Abbott urged Texans to "remain weather-aware, check DriveTexas.org before traveling, and heed the guidance of state and local officials."

The storm is expected to clear out of most areas by late Sunday or early on Monday. The extreme cold from an Arctic blast of air from Canada will bring a high temperature of only 5 degrees below zero on Saturday in Fargo, North Dakota.

Farther south the main storm hazard will be ice, weather forecasters said. From Central Virginia to northern Texas, the southeastern states could see accumulations of up to a half inch of ice. — Reuters