Bitterly cold temperatures from Amarillo to Dallas will set the stage for what promises to be a significant winter storm in North Texas.

Snow and ice will spread into the Southern Plains Wednesday night. Parts of north and west Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and southern Kansas are forecast to see snow. A band of sleet and freezing rain may stretch from central Texas into northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas.

Tens of millions of Americans are bracing for a massive winter storm Sunday, which is forecast to bring the heaviest snowfall and coldest temperatures to parts of the country in over a decade. The polar vortex has already prompted states of emergency in the Plains,