Powerful storms that killed three people in Mississippi and ripped roofs from buildings in a small Oklahoma town charged eastward Wednesday, spawning tornado warnings near the East Coast while heavy snow struck the Midwest and dry,

The winter storm could impact up to 170 million people across more than 20 states from the southern Plains to the Midwest and East, AccuWeather said.

A mammoth and multifaceted storm – which was dealing wind, fire, choking dust and the threat of a blizzard – pummeled much of the country as it marched east.