Massive Storm System Set to Affect Entire US by End of Week

WASHINGTON - From coast to coast, millions of Americans in more than a dozen states are under some sort of winter weather alert as a massive storm system moves eastward.

Experts warn there's a chance every state in the lower 48 will have been affected by the end of the week.

The Northeast saw its first major storm of the season, causing travel chaos. Some passengers at Boston's Logan Airport ended up sleeping on the floor due to flight delays and cancellations.

But it's the West that's taken the brunt of the heavy snowfall so far this week. The Sierra Nevada mountain range is getting more than five feet of snow, causing power outages and road closures, creating a nightmare for travelers.

"There's a bunch of semis stuck on the highway and we can't get anywhere," said one driver who was trying to get to a ski resort with her friends.

In northern Utah, slick roads caused a charter bus to spin out. More than 20 people were injured when it flipped onto its side.

"All facets of extreme weather. From a blizzard in the Dakotas, severe weather across the South Central and Southeastern United States. We're also worried about flooding rain in the Tennessee Valley, and later on this week ice and snow across the Northeast," said Accuweather Chief Video Meteorologist Bernie Rayno. 

Heavy snow is predicted to move through the Plains and the Midwest over the next few days.

South Dakota's Department of Public Safety encouraged residents to just stay home, tweeting out: "This is a 'We're not kidding kind of storm.'" 

This is a "we are not kidding" kind of storm. Rain and freezing rain followed by heavy snow and high winds. Keep updated on the latest forecasts. Reconsider any travel plans. Have enough supplies at home including prescription medications and all other necessities. #keepSDsafe pic.twitter.com/nvgyyaxCiV

— SDPublicSafety (@SDPublicSafety) December 12, 2022

"Look at the snow accumulations by the time everything ends. As we get into Wednesday and Thursday that area between Rapid City and Bismark, easily over a foot of snow. And the snow accumulation only half the equation because across the Dakota's, where we have the winds howling out of the Northeast, this will be a full-fledged blizzard from western Nebraska into the western Dakota's," Rayno explained.

Across the South, there's the potential for violent storms on Tuesday. Strong winds, hail, and possible tornadoes are predicted from Texas to Alabama.

The storm system is expected to bring several inches of snow, and some ice, to the mid-Atlantic and Northeast by the end of the week. 

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