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A powerful winter storm<\/a> with more than 150 million Americans in its crosshairs started sweeping across much of the US on Saturday, packing heavy snow and sleet as well as freezing rain, and the risk of widespread power outages.<\/p>\n Snowfall was already<\/a> being reported on Saturday morning across parts<\/a> of the plains, the south and the midwest, including in areas of Oklahoma<\/a>, Iowa<\/a>, Tennessee<\/a>, Kansas<\/a>, Texas<\/a> and Missouri<\/a>.<\/p>\n The severe cold weather created unsafe driving conditions on many roads throughout the midwest and southern US as ice coated streets and highways and electric grid operators stepped up precautions to avoid rotating blackouts.<\/p>\n Ice and sleet hit northern Texas overnight and moved toward the central part of the state on Saturday. Ice formed on roads and bridges in a third of Mississippi\u2019s counties. Dominion Energy said it is preparing for widespread power outages in Virginia and North Carolina<\/a> caused by the storm.<\/p>\n Roughly 12,000 flights were canceled across the country as the storm began its track, bringing severe cold and ice to regions unaccustomed to such severe conditions. Around 140 million people, or more than 40% of the US population, are under winter storm warnings from New Mexico to New England.<\/p>\n By midday Saturday, a quarter of an inch of ice was reported in parts of south-eastern Oklahoma<\/a>, eastern Texas and portions of Louisiana.<\/p>\n The X account of Chicago & Midwest Storm Chasers reported<\/a> \u201cmany cars are off the road or stuck along the [south-west] side of [interstate] 30 near Little Rock\u201d amid significant ice and snow.<\/p>\n And Arkansas meteorologist Zachary Hall wrote<\/a> Saturday on X that interstate 40 was \u201cat a standstill \u2026 due to accidents\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThese conditions will *NOT* improve with more snow, sleet and freezing rain likely tonight and tomorrow too,\u201d Hall wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat really makes this storm unique is, just following this storm, it\u2019s just going to get so cold,\u201d said Allison Santorelli, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. \u201cThe snow and the ice will be very, very slow to melt and won\u2019t be going away anytime soon, and that\u2019s going to hinder any recovery efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n The weather agency warned<\/a> on Saturday morning that the powerful winter storm was \u201cunderway\u201d with \u201cprecipitation already impacting\u201d south-central regions of the country.<\/p>\n Forecasters have said that more than 160 million Americans<\/a> are expected to be affected by the winter storm. Weather officials warn that widespread, extended power outages were possible \u2013 along with major travel disruptions, extensive tree damage and dangerous conditions.<\/p>\n Heavy snow is expected across a large area from the southern Rockies and plains through the mid-Atlantic and into the north-east through the weekend, the NWS said. The NWS added that snowfall totals were likely to exceed 12in across the Ohio valley, mid-Atlantic and north-east.<\/p>\n Widespread freezing rain and sleet are forecast for the southern plains, the lower Mississippi valley, the Tennessee<\/a> valley and the south-east.<\/p>\n The NWS warned of \u201ccatastrophic ice accumulation\u201d from the southern plains to the mid-Atlantic and the south-east. It added that the catastrophic impacts are expected where freezing rain amounts exceed a half inch, with totals of more than 1in possible in parts of northern Louisiana, central and northern Mississippi, southern Tennessee and the southern Appalachians.<\/p>\n And in the wake of the storm, the agency said that communities from the southern plains to the north-east can expect to contend with \u201cbitterly cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills\u201d.<\/p>\n On Friday, the agency said<\/a> that power outages \u201care certain for some, especially in areas where the heaviest ice will accumulate on trees and powerlines\u201d.<\/p>\n The service urged Americans on Friday to \u201ctake this storm seriously<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n As of Saturday afternoon, more than 130,000 customers, including about 61,600 in Texas<\/a>, were without power nationwide, according to PowerOutage.us.<\/p>\n Donald Trump on Friday night said<\/a> on his Truth Social platform that he had been \u201cbriefed on the Record Cold Wave and Historic Winter Storm that will be hitting much of the United States this weekend\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump Administration is coordinating with State and Local Officials,\u201d the president said. He declared the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) \u201cfully prepared to respond\u201d less than a month after reports that his administration had drafted plans to eliminate thousands<\/a> of the entity\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n \u201cStay Safe and Stay Warm!\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social.<\/p>\n Before the storm, at least 16 states<\/a> had declared states of emergency, along with Washington DC.<\/p>\n Kentucky\u2019s governor, Andy Beshear, warned<\/a> on Saturday morning that the winter storm was \u201cmoving through\u201d the state \u201cwith areas expecting up to 15 inches of snow, ice accumulation and dangerously cold temperatures\u201d.<\/p>\n He urged residents to avoid travel and to prepare.<\/p>\n The storm has already disrupted air travel, with more than 9,000 flights within, into or out of the US cancelled for Saturday and Sunday, according to the website Flight Aware<\/a>.<\/p>\n