The agency forecasts snow accumulations of 12 to 18 inches during this time for areas above 6,000 feet, while areas over 4,000 feet should expect 3 to 6 inches. On Saturday, wind gusts could reach 50 miles per hour in speed, with travel becoming "very difficult to impossible."

Around 40 million people in the U.S. are under a winter storm warning from an unusual blast of severe cold weather and snow across the South.

A major winter storm that slammed Texas and the northern Gulf Coast is spreading heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain across parts of the Florida panhandle and eastern Carolinas