A cold wave and freezing rain threaten more than 100 million people

The National Weather Service reported that a series of winter storms will affect the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast through next week with heavy rain and a combination of snow, sleet and freezing rain.

"Forecast snow and ice accumulations through Saturday across the country," the service said on its X account.

Similarly, the service explained that up to a half-inch of ice is expected in eastern West Virginia, northern Virginia and parts of south-central Pennsylvania, which could cause scattered power outages and damage to trees.

"This amount of ice is capable of making untreated roadways treacherous" the NWS said. Between 2 and 5 feet of snow could fall across much of New England.

Along those lines, the National Weather Service warned -as recalled by NBC- this week that even a minimal amount of freezing rain (which freezes on contact with the ground, making surfaces slippery) can create chaos on the roads.