(NEW YORK) — More than 160 million people are on alert for a brutal weekend storm that’s going to bring dangerous ice and snow to the South, bitter cold to the Midwest, and snowfall to the Northeast.
South
The storm moves into the South on Friday afternoon. By the evening, the snow and ice will be impacting Dallas to Little Rock, Arkansas, to Wichita, Kansas, to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
On Saturday morning, the temperature is forecast to fall to 27 degrees in Dallas; 8 degrees in Oklahoma City; 14 degrees in Little Rock; and 19 degrees in Nashville, Tennessee.
As temperatures drop on Saturday, extremely dangerous ice — up to half an inch — and heavy snow will push across the South, from Texas to the Carolinas.
The worst of the ice could hit cities including Dallas; Little Rock; Memphis, Tennessee; Nashville, Tennessee; the Atlanta area; Charlotte, North Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Washington, D.C.
Residents should be prepared for dangerous travel conditions and widespread power outages, which could leave people without electricity or heat. The lack of heat will be very dangerous because the bitter cold is expected to continue well after the storm passes.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he was activating state emergency response resources, saying the freezing rain, sleet and snow “could create hazardous travel conditions into the weekend and cause impacts to infrastructure.”
The governors of Virginia, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have declared states of emergency. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Thursday told residents to prepare to stay home for multiple days and warned drivers to stay off the roads unless completely necessary.
Midwest
This unforgiving arctic blast will strike the Midwest late Thursday into Friday, bringing extremely dangerous temperatures.
On Friday morning, the wind chill — what temperature it feels like — is forecast to plunge to minus 39 degrees in Minneapolis, minus 32 in Chicago and minus 39 in Madison and Green Bay, Wisconsin. In these conditions, frostbite can develop in just 10 minutes.
Public schools in Chicago are closing on Friday due to the cold, and some Minnesota schools were closed on Thursday, according to MPR News.
Northeast
The brutal cold will strike the Northeast on Friday night, with below-freezing temperatures expected for New York City and Philadelphia.
Then on Sunday, the storm will hit the Northeast, bringing snow and ice from Washington, D.C., to New York City to Boston.
The exact forecast for the snow and ice is not yet clear.
The American model shows heavy snow for most of the Interstate 95 corridor — from Philadelphia to New York City to Boston — with the snow lasting until Monday morning.
The European model shows the rain/snow line further north, with New Jersey, Philadelphia and D.C. seeing more ice than snow.
Airline travel alerts
Many airlines are issuing travel alerts and waiving rebooking fees ahead of the storm.
American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have waived rebooking fees, allowing passengers to rebook their flights at no additional cost.
United has issued travel waivers for cities expected to be affected, allowing those who bought tickets on or before Tuesday to rebook without a fee if their travel is affected.
Southwest said it’s monitoring the weather and will issue any advisories or make any changes as needed.
ABC News’ Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.
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