Two consecutive winter storms have put the Midwest and South onhigh alert as heavy snow, ice and freezing rain that began a trekacross the country on Wednesday show no signs of abating until latenext week.

The current storm system threatens up to 32 million people withtemperatures that may dive below -20 degrees Fahrenheit, and itcould leave a six-inch layer of ice on streets and branches,according to multiple weather forecasts.

Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Oklahoma have declaredstates of emergency. The storm, large enough to be seen from space,may also leave up to three feet of snow in Minnesota, Idaho,Montana and Wyoming. Forecasters warn that freezingtemperatures may cause slushy, rain-soaked snow to freeze and buildup on surfaces for days, causing problems for cleanup crews andresidents—including commuters on the I-80 corridor in Virginia andMaryland.

“This will be the worst ice storm for the United States sinceJanuary 2009 and will affect many of the same areas as that storm,”says Jesse Ferrell, an Accuweather.com storm chaser. “Every fewyears there is a blockbuster ice storm somewhere in the U.S. andthese storms are no stranger to the South Central region.”

According to the Insurance Information Institute, the 2009winter storm was the 15th costliest on record, affecting theSoutheast, South Central, East and Midwest U.S. regions and causing$565 million in insured losses.

The Weather Channel blames the ongoing wintry mix on cold airfrom Canada colliding with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Weather Service says that half an inch of sleet hasalready accumulated in Fort Smith, Ark.,

Along with snow and ice, the storm also broughtdarkness—widespread power outages have been reported, such as themore than 260,000 people without power around the Dallas area onFriday.

“With a major storm that affects a large area of our territory,power restoration for all customers could take between five toseven days to complete, with the majority of customers being backin service much sooner than that,” Brady Aldy, transmission anddistribution operations director for Entergy Arkansas Inc. Energytold Accuweather.

After the current retires, a second one will bring snow back tothe same areas on Friday and Saturday and spear across themid-Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley and the Northeast from Sundaythrough Monday, affecting Washington, Baltimore andPhiladelphia.

Winter storms caused $38 million in insured losses in 2012, downfrom $2 billion in 2011, says Munich Re. The I.I.I. says the stormcategory has caused more than $1 billion in average annual lossesfrom 1992-2011. Overall, the I.I.I. says annual winter storm losseshave nearly doubled since the 1980s.