Expert issues severe warning for 'once-in-a-lifetime' storm set to hit US with life-threatening conditions

A storm described as 'once-in a-lifetime' is set to batter large parts of the US towards the end of the week and into the weekend.

It was only a few weeks back when parts of America were hit with sleet and even heavy snow over the Christmas period, causing travel chaos in the process.

And it appears millions of Americans will experience more unpredictable weather heading into the weekend due to subzero temperatures, heavy snow and ice causing huge problems.

Ryan Maue, a former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the storm is shaping up to be a 'widespread potentially catastrophic event from Texas to the Carolinas'.

"I don’t know how people are going to deal with it," he added, as per the Associated Press.

A storm is brewing (John Whitney/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, meteorologist Ryan Maue, added: "I think people are underestimating just how bad it’s going to be."

Wednesday's (January 21) forecast states the storm could stretch from New Mexico to New England, affecting a staggering 250 million people in the process.

Maue added: "The atmosphere is aligned perfectly that the pattern is locked into this warm Arctic, cold continent. And it’s not just here for us in North America, but the landmass of Eastern Europe to Siberia is also exceptionally cold. The whole hemisphere has gone into the deep freeze."

Due to the artic air passing down from Canada, cold temperatures are set to meet rain streaming eastward across across the Southern US.

The cold air colliding with the rain will most likely result in 'a major winter storm with very impactful weather, with all the moisture coming up from the Gulf and encountering all this particularly cold air that’s spilling in'.

Snow in New York last week (Liao Pan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

The chaotic conditions are set to impact many airports across the country too, including in Dallas, Atlanta, Memphis, Tennessee, and Charlotte and North Carolina.

National Weather Service meteorologist, Zack Taylor, has said most areas east of the Rockies will have snow or ice over the next few days, as well as bitterly cold conditions.

"We’re looking at the potential for impactful ice accumulation. So the kind of ice accumulation that could cause significant or widespread power outages or potentially significant tree damage," the expert said.

Experts say it's pretty difficult to predict right now how many inches of snow could fall in the next few days, though 'significant snowfall accumulations' could hit areas including 'Tennessee and Ohio valleys, the central Appalachians, and then into the mid-Atlantic, and perhaps into the portions of the northeast'.

Finally, meteorologist Dylan Federico took to X to describe how a 'destructive and potentially catastrophic ice storm is forecast'.

He added: "Widespread ice will cripple travel, cause major power outages, and down trees. This is a rare high-impact event — potentially the worst in decades since the Great Ice Storm of February 1994."

Folks in Dallas, Shreveport, Atlanta, and Charlotte are being warned 'to prepare like a hurricane is coming', as well as to 'forget' about any travel up north this weekend.