Massive winter storm threatens 160 million in southern, eastern U.S.

The National Weather Service said the storm was likely to bring heavy snow, freezing rain and sleet beginning in the Southern Rockies on Friday, then stretching up through the Northeast over the weekend.

In Texas and Oklahoma, states less accustomed to snowy conditions, authorities were bracing for rains to turn roads icy on Friday, spreading salt, calling in local law enforcement and utility workers for backup and cancelling schools.

More than 800 flights within, into, or out of the US were already delayed or cancelled on Friday in advance of the storm, including at airports in Dallas, Atlanta and Oklahoma, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.

The storm was expected to bring up a foot of snow (30 centimetres) stretching from Oklahoma to Washington, DC, New York and Boston, Massachusetts. It was then set to be followed by a blast of cold air across the Southern Plains to the Northeast, which could see wind chills drop to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (-46 Celsius) in parts of Minnesota and North Dakota, in near-record conditions.

The cold weather was expected to prolong the impact of the snow and ice, delaying its thaw.

As of Friday, at least 14 states – Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia – had declared emergencies.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), meanwhile, urged US residents to stock up on supplies ahead of the storm, plan for school and work disruptions, and charge power banks and carry backup medicine.

States in the storm’s path reported a flurry of shopping, as thousands of businesses were expected to shutter when the snow hit.

Earlier, it was reported that four people died and 26 were injured in heavy snow in Japan.