A powerful storm will spread snow and ice along a 1,500-mile zone from much of the Plains and the Mississippi Valley to many areas of the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Coast from this weekend through early next week, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. There will be widespread travel problems and many areas will experience bitterly cold air.

The storm is shaping up to be the first large-scale winter storm of the season across the central and eastern United States and will negatively impact travel during the final days of the holidays.

At this time, a severe snowstorm is forecast from much of Nebraska into southern and central Ohio and West Virginia. Sufficient snow for shoveling and plowing (3-6 inches or more) will extend about 1,000 miles from western Nebraska to West Virginia.

Heavy snowfall, with 6 to 12 inches and locally higher amounts forecast, will extend from northern Kansas and southeast Nebraska to southern Ohio and include much of the Interstate 70 corridor. Major cities likely to see many inches of snow include Topeka, Kansas; St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri; Springfield, Ill.; Indianapolis and Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 22 inches is most likely to occur anywhere from northern Missouri through west-central Illinois to northeast Kansas.

Exactly how much snow falls in Kansas City and St. Louis depends on the amount of sleet and freezing rain that occurs. If all the snow falls, snow accumulation can increase by several inches.

Just south of the snow zone, an area of ​​ice with sleet and freezing rain extends from approximately I-40 to near I-70 from the Plains to the Ohio and Tennessee valleys. Kansas City, Missouri; Tulsa, Okla.; and Springfield, Missouri, could expect significant amounts of ice, creating dangerous travel conditions.

The zone from southeast Kansas to southern Missouri, southern Illinois and southern and central Kentucky could face a destructive ice storm, where a heavy layer of ice could down many trees and power lines, blocking roads. Some communities could lose power for days if dangerously cold air moves in as a result of the storm. There may be a great need to establish emergency shelters to accommodate the potentially affected population.

As the storm reaches the Appalachian Mountains and Atlantic Coast, the area where snow accumulation from the storm could occur will extend from near I-68 to I-80. This zone includes some major hubs in the Northeast, including New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

The ice zone could extend across parts of North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and southern parts of Virginia and include Richmond, Virginia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Raleigh, North Carolina.

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As the storm continues to move eastward, the snow and ice area becomes more dependent on a separate storm over southeastern Canada. This storm in eastern Canada could push the U.S. storm and snow and ice zones further south, rather than allowing the U.S. storm and its freezing and freezing precipitation to move north along the Atlantic coast.

A more southerly track could mean dry conditions in New York City and Philadelphia, snow for Raleigh, Richmond and Washington, DC, and ice or a wintry mix for Atlanta, Charlotte and Greenville, South Carolina.

The storm is likely strong enough to produce thunderstorms south of the route, and some of those storms in the I-10 and I-20 corridors could be severe.

As the storm passes through an expanding zone of Arctic air across the country, icy conditions will move into southern states in its wake, bringing some of the lowest temperatures in years before mid-January.

Additional widespread winter storms could follow this pattern, and one or more could send snow and ice toward the Gulf Coast states.

Such a storm will be observed later next week. The same storm could start near the Gulf and move north, bringing snow and ice along the Atlantic coast.

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