Powerful storms that killed two people in Mississippi and ripped roofs from buildings in a small Oklahoma town are charging across the nation, threatening more communities in the central to eastern United States with wide-ranging weather.

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.