18 states trigger emergency responses as heavy snow and crippling ice begin to spread across U.S.

A major winter storm is forecast to bring heavy snow, sleet, freezing rain and frigid temperatures to a massive swath of the United States stretching all the way from New Mexico and Texas to parts of New England and the South this weekend, according to meteorologists. Roughly 245 million people across 40 states are expected to be impacted by what could potentially be a historic storm.

At least 18 states have issued emergency disaster declarations: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Washington, D.C., has also declared a state of emergency.

More than 9,500 flights scheduled in the U.S. this weekend have been canceled.

“It is rare that storms combine this much snow, ice and bitter cold over such a large area — a widespread travel-halting winter storm will stall daily life for days in large portions of the central and eastern U.S.,” Evan Myers of AccuWeather said.

Impacts from the snow and ice could cause power outages, widespread travel shutdowns and school closures. “In the wake of the storm, communities from the Southern Plains to the Northeast will contend with bitterly cold temperatures that will hamper cleanup efforts, prolonging infrastructure impacts and hazardous travel into at least early next week,” the National Weather Service said.

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