Intense winter conditions forecasted for 83 million people across country

More than 83 million people across the U.S. are expected to experience intense winter conditions this week as inclement weather makes its way through the country, according to weather reports. 

The snow will impact Americans from the East Coast to the Pacific Northwest, with the weather expecting to intensify Thursday night, NBC News reported. 

The storms are expected to produce inches of snow starting Thursday night in the mid-Atlantic before making its way up through the Northeast from Pennsylvania to Boston. The worst snowfall is expected during rush hour on Friday.

The storm could produce up to 2 feet of snow in some areas, with whiteout conditions due to predicted 40 mph winds. 

News of the harsh winter weather comes after motorists in the Washington, D.C., metro area were stranded for more than 20 hours on I-95 amid thick snowfall earlier this week. 

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) was among those caught in the standstill this week. Kaine was making his way to the nation’s capital to work on voting rights from his home in Virginia at the time. 

Parts of Washington state and Oregon are also under a flood advisory amid news of storms. 

The states are expected to receive heavy snow and rain Friday, with a potential for up to 18 inches of snow to fall in some areas and up to 5 inches of rain in others, according to NBC. 

Chilling temperatures are expected to come with the winter storms, affecting Texas and parts of the Midwest. 

The weather will likely exacerbate flight cancellations, fueled by coronavirus infections, that have plagued the airline industry since Christmas.

Airlines canceled more than 1,700 flights on Wednesday due to weather and staffing shortages caused by COVID-19, The Washington Post reported.