The winter storm is so big that over 170 million Americans are under an ice and snow advisory | Fortune

"Millions of Americans from New Mexico to the Carolinas are bracing for a potentially catastrophic ice storm that could crush trees and power lines and knock out power for days, while Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston could see enough snow to make travel very difficult or nearly impossible, forecasters say. More than 170 million people - about half the population of the United States - were in the path of heavy snow and crippling ice, the National Weather Service said Friday. Alerts from the weather service stretched from Arizona and Montana in the West to the Carolinas and Maine in the east."

"The storm, which began early Friday and continues through the weekend, is also projected to bring heavy snow and all types of wintry precipitation, including freezing rain and sleet. An atmospheric river of moisture could be in place by the weekend, pulling precipitation across Texas and other states along the Gulf Coast and continuing across Georgia and the Carolinas before heading northeast, forecasters said."

""Snow amounts could reach a foot or more in the I-95 major cities from D.C. to Boston," said weather service forecasters on the East Coast, who are increasingly confident the storm will strike the big cities. More than 1,500 flights scheduled to fly through U.S. airports Saturday were canceled by the time the storm began early Friday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Airports in Dallas, Atlanta, Oklahoma and Tennessee were among the most affected."

An approaching winter storm will impact a vast swath of the United States, from the Southwest through the Southeast and up the Eastern Seaboard. More than 170 million people are in the storm's path, with forecasts of heavy snow, freezing rain, sleet and crippling ice. An atmospheric river may channel Gulf moisture across Texas and the Southeast into the Northeast. Major I-95 cities from Washington, D.C., to Boston could receive a foot or more of snow. The storm has prompted widespread flight cancellations, threatens to topple trees and power lines, and could cause multi-day outages in affected areas. Some municipalities, such as Jackson, Mississippi, lack traditional snowplow fleets and must rely on alternative equipment for clearing.

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