Schools and buildings from Texas to Georgia were shut down Thursday or prepared to close ahead of freezing rain and snow forecast for much of the Southern U.S. as another burst of plunging temperatures and winter storms threatened to again snarl travel.

A major winter storm is expected to be the biggest in years as cold air moves in from the Arctic bringing snow and frigid temperatures across 20 Southern States.

Winter weather will bring snow and cold temperatures to 13 Southern states this weekend as a winter storm moves across the U.S. Millions of people are preparing for dangerous winter weather as a storm takes hold over much of the Southern and Central U.