Ice storm slated to hit U.S. South, Midwest

A massive ice storm is slated to hit the Southern and Midwestern regions of the U.S. starting Monday through Wednesday, according to NBC News.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas will be at the eye of the storm, but a wave of cold air is expected to move across the center of the country all the way to Nashville, Tennessee and even up to West Virginia, hitting hard as it goes with freezing rain and accumulating ice.

The Midwest was hit starting Monday as well, with a mix of freezing rain and ice coating the Ohio River Valley along with the Central and Southern Plains. Parts of the Mississippi and Tennessee River valleys will experience the same conditions.

Winter alerts started early Monday, placing as many as 16 million people under wind chill alerts from the Canadian border to the Texas Panhandle due to a wave of arctic cold moving down from Canada. The freezing rain and winter mix will continue with another round on Wednesday with even heavier rains and colder temperatures. Power outages are predicted for much of the region.

A storm like this during the winter is far different than a regular rainstorm, as freezing rain turns to ice the moment it hits the ground, where temperatures loom below freezing.

Earlier Monday, the Dakotas saw temperatures of -40F (-40C) and more, and Montana and Wyoming experienced frigid conditions, with temperatures in the -50F (-45.5C) range.