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More than half of the United States population is expected to be affected by a potentially historic winter storm over the weekend, NBC News reports.
At least 172 million people in the path of a storm capable of "considerable disruption" are under winter weather warnings through Sunday (January 25), with at least a dozen states already declaring emergencies. The storm, which has been dubbed Winter Storm Fern, is expected to span more than 2,000 miles and hammer multiple regions of the United Stats through the weekend as it moves from the Southwest through the South and Tennessee Valley and up to the Mid-Atlantic coast including New York City and Boston, before concluding Monday (January 26) afternoon.
Up to a foot of snow is expected from Oklahoma to Massachusetts, while the southern side, which includes Texas, the Carolinas and Virginia, is expected to get mixed precipitation, according to the National Weather Service.
"A significant, long-duration winter storm will bring widespread heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain from the Southern Rockies to New England through Monday. Widespread travel disruptions, prolonged power outages, and vast tree damage is likely," the National Weather service said on its X account Friday (January 23).
Wind chills are reportedly expected to be 40 to 50 below zero in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions, while Texas and other Gulf Coast states are expected to have temperatures that feel like the single digits to -10 degrees Fahrenheit. Major airlines have already issued travel advisories and offered waivers ahead of the expected record storms with Delta predicting 41 airports will be impacted, including its Atlanta hub; United predicting 35 airports will be impacted; American Airlines predicting 34 airports will be impacted; and Southwest Airlines predicting 26 airports will be impacted.