A colossal, deadly winter storm barreled toward the East Coast on Wednesday after tearing across the central U.S., unleashing a barrage of dangerous weather disruptions from hurricane-force winds to blizzard conditions.

The storm impacts have been felt from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes and Atlantic Coast as whiteout conditions forced people off the roads in the High Plains and wildfires broke out amid bone-dry conditions in South Texas. Over 400,000 homes and businesses across half the country were without power from Texas to North Carolina.

Federal forecasters expect severe weather to wallop much of the Eastern Seaboard on Wednesday, from the Mid-Atlantic to Jacksonville. The worst conditions were anticipated across the eastern Carolinas – which are dealing with an outbreak of wildfires that began last weekend – into southeast Virginia.

∎ In Florida, Tallahassee schools opened an hour late Wednesday amid concerns tornadoes could develop. The region remained under a wind advisory into Wednesday night; gusts were expected to reach 45 mph.

∎ In Texas, a weather service damage survey team confirmed an EF-1 tornado occurred Tuesday in the Fort Worth area. Peak winds were estimated at 110 mph for the tornado that remained on the ground for about a half mile.

The Weather Channel warned that damaging winds and tornadoes were possible all day Wednesday frofrom Pennsylvania to far northern Florida. Charleston, South Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. are among a slew of cities facing the threat into Wednesday night.

"L​arge hail and perhaps an isolated tornado could accompany storms that develop in western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia," the Weather Channel said.

In Iowa, crews from the Des Moines Fire Department's Hazardous Materials assisted with clearing an accident scene along Interstate 80 near Wednesday morning. The driver of a semitruck collided with another truck that had previously jackknifed under an overpass, authorities said.

Strong winds were expected throughout the day, leading to blizzard conditions and making winter roads dangerous. A blizzard warning was in effect for much of Iowa. Conditions overnight left roads in western Iowa "nearly impassable" and visibility Wednesday morning was near zero at times, according to the National Weather Service.

The dangerous comes as thousands try to descend on Des Moines for the Iowa girls high school state basketball tournament , a major winter event in the state.

South Central Texas was facing "near critical" fire weather conditions Wednesday due to the dry air and wind gusts forecast for the area. A Rangeland Fire Danger warning was in effect with 20 mph wind gusts likely to combine with a minimum relative humidity of 15 to 25%, the weather service said.

Areas of New Mexico and Texas were temporarily shrouded by a brown mist earlier this week, when dust storms, known as haboobs , swept across the southern Plains on Monday afternoon. More than a dozen fire reports were received by the National Weather Service office in San Antonio and Austin.

In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves said at least two people died as high winds swept across the state Tuesday.

"We’ve received reports of two fatalities as a result of today’s severe weather," Reeves said on X. "Please join @firstladyofms and me in praying for their families."

The National Weather Service in Mississippi posted video of the roof ripping off a building at the Clay County Jail. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph on Wednesday could topple large branches and some trees could fall, resulting in more power outages and making travel risky, forecasters said.

The National Weather Service warned that a low pressure system will be making "numerous headlines" across the Eastern U.S., starting with the greater Chicago metro area to southern Michigan. Blizzard conditions are expected "at times" Wednesday from north of Kansas City to Iowa and up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and several inches of snowfall combined with strong winds are likely.

"The main concern today will continue to be the high winds with gusts expected to range between 50-65 mph through this evening," the weather service in Kansas City said on X. The office in Marquette, Michigan, said strong winds along Lake Superior "will result in blizzard conditions, possible tree damage, and potential for power outages."