Winter storms and extreme cold are forecast to wallop the U.S. with snow and ice through the weekend. Prepare for power outages and transportation issues.

Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management on Tuesday to prepare for the impacts of impending the winter weather . It’s expected to begin early Friday morning and last through the weekend — not just extended freezing temperatures, but a dangerous combination of sleet, freezing rain, and ice.

The National Weather Service says the Austin area can expect freezing overnight temperatures, along with wind chills in the single digits and the possibility of freezing rain or sleet.

NBC 5's Chief Meteorologist Rick Mitchell said forecasters expect the storm to bring moderate to heavy accumulations of snow, sleet and ice. Travel is expected to be hazardous, and power outages are possible. Friday will feature an Arctic cold front moving into North Texas. Precipitation will start as cold rain, persisting into the early evening.

A fierce Arctic blast of bitterly cold air is poised to overtake much of the central, eastern and southern U.S. over the next few days, dropping temperatures well below average.

An arctic cold front could bring Texas its coldest temperatures and the possibility of ice and snow this weekend.

Don't let the midweek warmup fool you... a powerful cold front is set to arrive Friday night, bringing a high potential for icy roads and winter weather through Saturday.

Friday’s cold front brings in much colder air to Central Texas for Saturday. We expect a freeze in the Hill Country Saturday morning. Highs on Saturday will only reach the 50s. Saturday night into Sunday morning will bring a widespread freeze and likely our coldest morning of the winter season so far.

Fifty-three of Florida's 67 counties were under a freeze watch Wednesday morning, as a strong cold front moves through the state.