Winter storm expected to bring snow and ice from Central Plains to mid-Atlantic: See forecast

A massive winter storm is expected to bring "significant wintry weather" from the Central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic beginning later this week.

The National Weather Service said Thursday morning there is growing confidence the storm will begin impacting the Central Plains by late Saturday, the Ohio and Tennessee valleys on Sunday, and the Mid-Atlantic region early next week.

The weather service says that heavy lake-enhanced snow is likely for areas downwind of the Great Lakes over the next few days, with 6-12 inches of snow with isolated higher amounts possible by Saturday morning.

Additionally, a low-pressure system tracking across the central U.S. is expected to produce a light swath of snowfall from Iowa across the Ohio Valley on Thursday and into the Central Appalachians on Friday. Snowfall accumulations of 6-12 inches are possible over the Central Appalachians, according to the weather service.

The weather service said areas in the Central Plains and Mississippi Valley, especially along and north of Interstate 70, have a high chance of seeing at least 6 inches of snow. Further south, the weather service says there are concerns about potentially significant sleet and freezing rain affecting eastern Kansas and the Ozarks, which may extend eastward to the Tennessee and lower Ohio valleys this weekend.

"Some icing may also occur in parts of the southern Appalachians on Sunday," the weather service said.

AccuWeather meteorologists say a major snowstorm is forecast from a "large part of Nebraska to southern and central Ohio and West Virginia," and that "enough snow to shovel and plow (3-6 inches or more) will extend for about 1,000 miles from western Nebraska to West Virginia."

Cities expected to see many inches of snow include St. Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis and Cincinnati, among others. The areas most likely to see the highest snowfall accumulations are somewhere from northern Missouri to west-central Illinois to northeastern Kansas, according to AccuWeather.

Cold temperatures coming for Central and Eastern US

The weather service also says that high pressure is expected to build over the Great Plains, sending "frigid arctic air" down through the Central and Eastern U.S. through the weekend.

AccuWeather meteorologists are warning that round after found of arctic air is "poised to plunge into the central and eastern United States," with each outbreak having the potential to bring colder air farther south than the previous round.

This could lead to a surge in energy demands and the risk of freeze-related damage in the Southern U.S., according to AccuWeather.

"The magnitude and extent of the Arctic air will build into the first full week of January and linger through the middle of the month and will, at times, affect more than 250 million people living in more than 40 states in the Central and Eastern regions," according to AccuWeather forecasters.