Major winter storm expected to impact 235 million Americans this weekend with thousands of flight cancellations anticipated across major airlines nationwide.

On Saturday at 5:07 a.m. EST a winter weather advisory was issued by the National Weather Service valid from 7 p.m. EST until Monday 1 a.m. EST for Branch and Hillsdale counties.

The National Weather Service released a winter weather advisory at 10:38 a.m. on Friday valid from Saturday midnight until Sunday 6 p.m. for Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Morgan, Marshall, Jackson, DeKalb and Cullman counties.

National Weather Service defines a blizzard as a storm that contains large amounts of snow or blowing snow, with winds in excess of 35 mph and visibilities of less than 1/4 mile for an extended period of time (at least 3 hours).

The major storm is set to hit starting on Jan. 23 and will stretch into the weekend, spreading snow and ice from the southern Plains to the Northeast.

Follow live winter storm updates and breaking weather news as snowstorms are predicted to fall across the U.S. this weekend, affecting states as far south as Texas.

Heads up! We're tracking accumulating snow and frigid temperatures that will impact all of Northeast Ohio.

ERCOT, which operates the Texas power grid, has issued an advisory for "extreme cold weather" in Texas. TEXAS, USA — The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has issued an advisory for "extreme cold weather" ahead of the expected winter storm in Texas this weekend.