How Winter Storm Fern Could Be Historic

South Carolina Sees Snow On Beach

Winter Storm Fern could etch itself into weather history in four different ways across the South, Midwest and Northeast. Let's unpack all four:

(MORE: Latest Full Forecast | Maps Tracker)

1. Its Massive Scale

Some winter storms affect only a relatively limited area. Not Winter Storm Fern.

Fern is expected to dump significant snow and/or ice over 34 states affecting over 220 million people in the U.S. That's almost two out of every three Americans, according to population estimates.

Fern will also dump significant snow in parts of southeastern and Atlantic Canada.

2. 'Catastrophic' Ice Storm

This storm will lead to widespread dangerous travel for days, and "catastrophic" ice accumulations in the South could lead to widespread power outages and tree damage, according to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center.

The parts of the South with the greatest risk of these major ice accumulations are shown in the map below.

This could be the region's most widespread, damaging ice storm in at least several years, with damage that could take days to recover from.

(MORE: Things To Know About Ice Storms | 10 Of Worst US Ice Storms)

3. Heaviest Snowstorm In Years, For Some

Areas shown by the darkest purple and pink contours in the map below have a good chance of measuring a foot or more of snowfall.

For some, either 12-inch-plus snowstorms are rare, or haven't happened in a while.

Tulsa, Oklahoma, has only had two 12-inch-plus snowstorms, including their record from the pre-Groundhog Day 2011 storm (14 inches) and a March 9, 1994, storm.

Louisville, Kentucky, hasn't had a foot-plus storm since its record 22.4-inch dumping from Feb. 4-5, 1998. The Derby City has only seven such heavy snowstorms in recorded history.

There's more uncertainty regarding the Washington to New York City Interstate 95 corridor's snowfall, with the potential of sleet, ice or even rain to mix in and cut down snow accumulations.

Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., haven't seen at least 12 inches of snow from any snowstorm in 10 years, since Winter Storm Jonas in January 2016.

And while New York City's Central Park has a long history of major snowstorms, their last 12-inch-plus snowfall was almost five years ago, according to the National Weather Service.

4. Record Cold

As we discussed in our forecast, bitterly cold temperatures will likely smash dozens of daily cold records.

Some cities, especially in the South, could set new daily cold records for multiple days before the bitter air relaxes a tad.

Subzero lows are possible as far south as Oklahoma and parts of northwest Texas, while lows in the 20s and 30s will surge to the Gulf Coast and even into northern and central Florida.

(MAPS: 10-Day US Forecast Highs/Lows)

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.