The system, which is set to begin Tuesday night and last through Thursday, could dump 15 to 30 cm of snow over portions of the southern Rockies and central Plains, with record snowfall possible in the Midwest as well.
"While typical in terms of the time of year that you might expect something like this, potentially atypical in terms of some of the snowfall amounts we may see in parts of the Midwest," said Greg Carbin, the forecast operations branch chief for the NWS Weather Prediction Center.
Snow could blanket Detroit in amounts not seen in years, Carbin added, while icy roads and bridges threatened to make travel "nearly impossible." Power outages are also possible.
A "corridor of heavy ice accumulation" will stretch from the Ohio River Valley down to Texas, according to the forecast.
Winter weather advisories, storm watches and warnings are in effect in many of the areas in the storm's path.
In Texas, where a deadly deep freeze last year crippled the state's electric grid, leaving millions without power in freezing temperatures, Governor Greg Abbott sought to reassure residents on Tuesday, saying the grid was prepared.
"We're all mindful of what happened last February in Texas," said Carbin, the NWS meteorologist.Â
"The event coming up is going to introduce a shot of cold air and it's a mixed winter precipitation at this time, it looks nothing like what we saw last February in terms of both intensity and duration."
Extremely cold air caused by Arctic high pressure that is forecast to descend over the Plains on Wednesday will send temperatures plummeting in some areas, the NWS added.
The storm threat comes days after fierce winter weather engulfed the northeastern part of the US, dropping more than 60 cm of snow on some areas and packing high winds, prompting thousands of flight cancellations and curtailing access to the roads in some states.
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