Storm to pound US with icy blast

A mammoth storm threatens to dump mounds of fresh snow, sleet and ice on about 100 million people — a third of the country — Tuesday as it barrels eastward across the United States.
High winds and freezing rain threatened to turn roads into deadly ice rinks and knock down trees and power lines and forecasts warned of dangerously cold temperatures.
Blizzard, winter storm and freezing rain warnings were issued for more than half of the country’s 50 states, from North Dakota and Colorado down to New Mexico
, then up through Texas, Kansas and Missouri to the Great Lakes region and across Pennsylvania to New England.
For Chicago, the National Weather Service said that the “dangerous multifaceted” storm with high winds and heavy snowfall with make travel “impossible” at times.
“Do not travel,” it warned residents.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urged residents to prepare in earnest for the fury of the storm.
“A storm of this size and scope needs to be taken seriously,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, who warned that “it’s critical that the public does its part to get ready.”