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 United States with wide-ranging weather.

An unusually powerful March storm is trekking across the country with a wide range of hazards from strong winds that could set off blizzard conditions and dust storms to severe thunderstorms that could produce tornadoes.

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.