Amid a dangerous arctic blast over much of the U.S. this week, snow and ice may bring major travel disruptions and power outages in the South, forecasters warned.

Most of the United States is being assailed with extreme winter weather this week as Arctic air blasts south from Canada, snow tracks up the Northeast coast and a potentially crippling winter storm takes aim at the South.

The northern Gulf Coast is bracing for a blast of arctic air and a powerful winter storm early next week, bringing dangerously cold temperatures, icy conditions, and snow. The cold air will begin arriving late Sunday,