Winter storm watches have been issued for millions of Americans ahead of what meteorologists say could be the worse holiday storm in decades.
- On Wednesday, a strong arctic cold front began moving across the southern end of the country toward the central plains, the National Weather Service reports. By Thursday, it should have reached Michigan before bringing record low temperatures to the Gulf Coast and the eastern United States on Friday, per the NWS.
- The forecast has prompted Missouri Governor Mike Parson to activate the National Guard in anticipation of the storm, while Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has become one of several state leaders to declare a state of emergency. "Communities across the state are about to see temperatures that they haven’t experienced in a decade or more," Kemp says. "And we just want to urge all Georgians to be ready."