Winter Storm Fern Dropping Heavy Snow, Some Ice In The Northeast

South Carolina Sees Snow On Beach

A historic, widespread, long-lasting winter storm has already blanketed parts of the South and Plains with ice and snow, and will target millions more in the Ohio Valley and Northeast through Monday.

Widespread dangerous travel will linger for days and "catastrophic" ice accumulations in the South are leading to widespread power outages and tree damage, according to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center.

The storm has been named Winter Storm Fern by The Weather Channel. Either heavy snow or ice (if not both) has affected 34 states and 220 million people during this storm, from Arizona to the Midwest, South and New England. Its impacts will linger for some time after the storm ends.

Happening Now

A large area of snow, sleet and freezing rain pushing through the East Coast. Officials are investigating the possibility of a tornado touchdown or two in southeast Alabama and the Florida panhandle.

Over a foot of snow has fallen in at least one location in the following states: Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. More than a half inch of ice has fallen in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

(MORE: How Much Snow, Ice Has Happened Already)

How Much Snow And Ice Is Yet To Come?

A broad area of the Northeast will pick up several more inches of snow through Monday. On top of what has already fallen, dangerous travel conditions in these areas are expected, with some roads possibly becoming impassable.

(MORE: Things To Know About Ice Storms | What Ice Accumulations Mean For Impacts)

If you have travel plans in these areas, we strongly urge you to either postpone or cancel them.

Winter Storm Alerts

Winter storm alerts have been issued by the National Weather Service across the East Coast.

Here's what these warnings mean:

Winter storm warning: A high expectation of disruptive, significant snow, ice and/or sleet. Mixed precipitation is likely in a lot of places. Power outages are expected and travel could be impossible.

Ice storm warning: A high expectation that ice/freezing rain will be the main precipitation type and that it will be disruptive and damaging. Power outages are expected and travel will be impossible. Some of the most significant damage this weekend will come from these zones.

Pay attention to the timing of these alerts in The Weather Channel app.

(MORE: Winter Storm Fern Maps Tracker)

Timing And Cities Impacted

Monday: Some snow is expected to linger across parts of the Northeast, especially New England and upstate New York, along with some gusty winds as the nor'easter gradually moves away.

Cities: New York City, Hartford, Boston, Providence, Burlington, Bangor

When Will It Thaw Out?

Once the storm is over, daytime highs might not climb above freezing in most of the snow and ice zone of the South until Tuesday or Wednesday. And morning lows may plunge into the single digits, teens and 20s in these affected areas through Tuesday or Wednesday.

This could leave those without power shivering long after the storm. We have important tips on how to cope with a winter power outage here and here.

While increasing sunshine should help thaw some snow or ice during the day, plunging temperatures after sunset may lead to refreezing on roads and several days of slippery travel after the storm is over.

Winter Storm Archive

The genesis of Winter Storm Fern came from an unusually low latitude off the coast of California and western Mexico around Jan. 22. The low-pressure system dipped southward and made landfall on Mexico's Baja California peninsula late on Jan. 23 while spreading deep subtropical moisture across Mexico and the southern U.S.

The Hurricane Hunters investigated the system in the Pacific to learn about its moisture, position and track before reaching Mexico.

(NEWS AS IT HAPPENED: January 23)

By midday on Jan. 24, snow and ice had surged from the Central and Southern Plains into the mid-Mississippi Valley. Freezing rain and sleet coated roads as far south as Del Rio, Texas, on the Mexican border.

(NEWS AS IT HAPPENED: January 24)

For many, the wintry mess came in two rounds, one early in the day for places like Dallas, Little Rock and Memphis, followed by a drier slot of lighter precipitation, then a heavier final round that swept from Texas and Oklahoma eastward through the South.

By Sunday, Jan. 25, much of the South was encased in ice, but especially so in Mississippi and Tennessee.

Middle Tennessee received 0.50-0.75 inches of ice through the night and into the early parts of Jan. 25. Power outages in Davidson County, where Nashville is located, spiked to 92% of the county.

Mother nature unleashed a battle of temperatures across the South through mid-afternoon.

To the east of the Appalachians, frigid air took hold in the cold air damming zone from the western Carolinas to northeast Georgia. All the while, springlike air from the Gulf spread northward through the Deep South along with some severe weather potential. Several likely tornadoes touched down in southern Alabama and the Florida panhandle. Winds as strong as 66 mph caused tree and roof damage, including in Montgomery, Alabama, where power was also knocked out.

You can see a depiction of that meteorological setup here.

A full recap of Winter Storm Fern is ongoing and the latest reports can be found here.

Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.