Half the U.S. population will likely see some effect from the sprawling storm that will move across the country this weekend, meteorologists said.

ATLANTA — Millions of Americans from New Mexico to the Carolinas are bracing for a potentially catastrophic ice storm that could crush trees and power lines and knock out power for days, while many northern states all the way to New England could see enough snow to make travel nearly impossible, forecasters say.

Confidence is growing in the weekend winter storm threat that will bring a mix of freezing rain, ice, snow and sleet to north Georgia. A winter storm watch expanded slightly overnight to include a few north metro counties.

A whopper of a winter storm is set to impact a large chunk of the U.S. – from Texas to the East Coast – this weekend. It’s too early to predict how much snow we may get, but the models are aligning for significant totals.

More than 70 million are under a winter storm watch.

A growing threat of winter weather could bring dangerous travel conditions and possible power outages across North Georgia this weekend, as forecasters warn that ice, not snow, may be the biggest concern.

Details are still up in the air, but forecasters feel certain we’re facing a significant winter storm this weekend. How prepared do you need to be?

With many Americans still recovering from multiple blasts of snow and unrelenting freezing temperatures in the nation’s northern tier, a new storm is set to emerge this weekend that could coat roads,