ATLANTA (AP) — 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.
An estimated 123 million people were under Winter Storm Watches on Thursday, most of them in southern or northeastern states, the National Weather Service said. Another 27 million Americans faced Extreme Cold Warnings in all of Minnesota and Wisconsin; and parts of Montana, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Michigan.
The storm, expected to begin Friday and continue 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…