More than 60 million people are in the path of the dangerous storm, set to plunge the eastern half of the United States into a deep freeze of Arctic air through Monday resulting in severe travel disruptions.
Winter storm warnings have been issued from western Kansas clear across to the coastal states of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia, an unusually broad 2,400-kilometer swath under immediate threat.
Winter storm warnings stretch from Kansas and Missouri to New Jersey, with blizzard conditions and widespread disruptions expected.
A blast of snow, ice, wind and plunging temperatures stirred up dangerous travel conditions in parts of the central U.S. on Sunday