Winter storms and extreme cold are forecast to wallop the U.S. with snow and ice through the weekend. Prepare for power outages and transportation issues.

Heavy snow, ice and brutal cold are expected to make this winter storm a potentially life-threatening weather event, stretching across two-thirds of the U.S.

As tens of thousands of Americans hit the roads and airways this Thanksgiving week to reunite with family, challenging weather conditions threaten to complicate their journeys across multiple regions.

Severe weather is bringing subzero temperatures to the northern Plains, then onto the Mississippi Valley, the Northeast and the Ohio Valley by Sunday.