(NEXSTAR) – With dangerously-cold arctic air already settling over a large swath of the U.S. Friday, at least 177 million people are under watches or warnings for ice and snow.
States in the Northeast – no stranger to snowfall – are preparing for some of the region’s heaviest snow in years, with Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont urging people to stock up on food early and “stay home on Sunday.”
Forecasters say what makes this storm especially dangerous is how far south the cold is expected to creep, mixing with a storm from the Gulf that is projected to bring snow, sleet and freezing rain to southern states.
For residents wondering how much snow they can expect as hazardous winter storm travels east across the U.S., click or tap on the interactive map below showing projections for the coming 72 hours:
More than 1,000 flights have been delayed or canceled Friday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware, with roughly 2,300 more on Saturday.
Schools were shuttered amid plummeting temperatures in Midwestern cities like Chicago and Cleveland, among others.
Utility companies in much of the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. are bracing for potential widespread outages from freezing rain, which can weigh down power lines and cause them to snap.
In at least 11 Southern states from Texas to Virginia, a majority of homes are heated by electricity, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Forecasters warned that the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival a hurricane.
For information on preparing for severe winter weather, see Ready.gov.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
