Winter weather alerts were in place for some 100 million people across 22 states from Nebraska to Massachusetts on Thursday as a series of winter storms descend on states in the North and the East, bringing snow,

A winter storm that brought snow, sleet and freezing rain to a large swath of the Midwest swept into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Thursday, causing treacherous travel conditions, prompting school delays and closures and potential power outages for millions of Americans.

Nearly half of the United States from the Midwest to Northeast will see snow or a freezing rain mix before the weekend arrives, weather forecasters say.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for all of the region starting Wednesday night through Thursday morning. Freezing rain is expected across the region with some accumulation of ice expected overnight until temperatures rise above freezing on Thursday morning.

Freezing rain could lead to hazardous travel conditions across the entire Chicago area, especially during "peak timing" of the winter weather system.