The National Weather Service said 132 million people are under winter weather alerts ahead of the storm.

As a dangerously cold weather front plunges into the U.S., tens of millions across much of the country can expect heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain.

By Thursday, around 180 million people were under some kind of winter weather advisory, watch or warning, said Brian Hurley, meteorologist at the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center.