A mammoth and multifaceted storm is slamming the eastern half of the United States with powerful winds, blizzard conditions and severe thunderstorms for the second consecutive day. The near-record strong March storm reached the East Coast early Wednesday after delivering deadly thunderstorms and whipping up choking dust and fast-spreading wildfires in the central and southern US Tuesday.

Powerful storms that killed two people in Mississippi and ripped roofs from buildings in a small Oklahoma town are charging across the nation, threatening more communities in the central to eastern Un

The winter storm could impact up to 170 million people across more than 20 states from the southern Plains to the Midwest and East, AccuWeather said.