The National Weather Service said a colossal multi-faced storm system is set to sweep across the South of the US today bringing brutal winds and wintery conditions to Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean said: “Severe weather is going to be a threat today, throughout the afternoon, and then we have the cold side of the storm where we have snow, freezing rain, and rain depending on where you live.” The comments come as yesterday saw the same weather system forcing out tornadoes, according to dozens of reports.
Portions of the Gulf Coast and Southeast were hit the hardest, said Ms Dean.
She added there were two other storms to come later today, both of which carried with them warnings of tornadoes.
Authorities in the South said three people have been killed by the frightening twisters after they smashed into buildings and tore down street lights in both Louisiana and Alabama.
One victim was killed at their home when a tornado crushed it in Louisiana.
Two others died 55 miles west of Huntsville, Alabama.
Tonia Tyler of Pineville, Louisiana, said: “The cat flew. It picked the cat up, and the cat flew — my cat — it flew across the yard.
“And I knew right there, I said, ‘Oh God, we’re not going to make it’.”
The storms saw a flurry of warnings and weather watches yesterday, with some areas opening shelters after the warm front from the Gulf collided with the cold brought in from the severe weather.
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Dangerously icy conditions are already being experienced in major cities such as New York, Hartford and Boston.
Ms Dean said: “It is going to be a very treacherous, if not impossible, way to travel if you are in freezing rain this morning.”
She warned about power outages and that ice will pile up on roads, warning Americans against travelling.
She said: “If you don’t have to travel, don’t travel in freezing rain.”
The icy conditions are coming from an Arctic blast from Canada.
It is set to spread into New England over the next few days.
The NWS said on their website: “Sub-zero temperatures are forecast for the upper Midwest Wednesday morning; single digits by Thursday morning for northern New England.
“These temperatures are 15 to 25 degrees below average.”
They added the Arctic blast will also trigger lake-effect snows.
These are extremely heavy amounts of snow.