Millions of people across the northern Gulf Coast braced Tuesday for a rare winter storm that’s expected to scatter heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain around the Deep South as a blast of Arctic air plunges much of the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze.

Millions of Americans face an artic blast, including the first-ever blizzard warning for parts of the Gulf Coast.

Around 40 million people, primarily across the southern US, were under some type of weather hazard, March Chenard, a meteorologist with the NWS, told BBC's partner CBS News. Another 170 million people from the Rockies to points eastward were under an extreme weather warning or cold weather advisory.