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.

Around 40 million people in the U.S. are under a winter storm warning from an unusual blast of severe winter weather.

Writing this forecast as a snow lover feels like I’m writing weather fanfic, but the reality may be ones for the records books.