A severe snowstorm is wreaking havoc across regions of the country unaccustomed to such harsh winter conditions.

More than 35 million residents find themselves under urgent weather alerts as a bomb cyclone—an intense storm characterized by rapidly dropping air pressure and fierce winds—makes its presence felt.

The storm has most significantly impacted states like the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, with snowfall reaching as far south as Tampa, Florida. In central Florida, temperatures are expected to plummet to the upper teens, a stark contrast to the usual highs in the 70s for this time of year.

Travel has become perilous, particularly in North Carolina, where authorities reported 750 car accidents on Saturday alone, according to the state highway patrol.

In a dramatic scene, approximately 100 vehicles were stranded on a northbound stretch of Interstate 85, north of Charlotte. The area experienced more snowfall in one day than it has in the past 20 years.

A late afternoon collision between a vehicle and a tractor-trailer near Kannapolis resulted in only one lane remaining open, leading to significant traffic congestion. This occurred just as the snow began to heavily blanket the highway, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

Snow fell so quickly it caused tractor-trailers and cars on I-85 to become stuck, stranding drivers. 

‘Once they’re blocking the interstate, everybody stops,’ North Carolina State Highway Patrol 1st Sgt. Christopher Knox told CBS 17. ‘We’re just limited in what we can do because of the interstate not being physically passable.’

‘It sounds like initially it is not necessarily a 100-car collision, but it’s just traffic that is stopped because we’re having to remove a vehicle that is blocking the roadway,’ Knox said.

The latest misery came about a week after a monster storm pummeled a wide swath of the United States, killing more than 100 people and leaving many communities still struggling to dig out from under the snow and ice.

Heavy snow fell in North Carolina and neighboring states Saturday, with authorities urging residents to stay off the roads and warning that oceanfront structures were under threat as a so-called ‘bomb cyclone’ strengthened off the coast.

All of North and South Carolina, and portions of Georgia, eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as southern Virginia were under a winter storm warning.

The area near the North Carolina and South Carolina border closest to the coast is where moderate to heavy snowfall is most likely until about 1am EST, with up to an inch of snow per hour falling.

Lighter snowfall will continue across much of South Carolina and North Carolina, as well as southern Virginia.

Road closures were mounting across the state too including a section of I-85 northeast of Charlotte – as well as in Virginia, and other Southern states where weather warnings are in effect.

‘Fewer cars on the road during winter weather will help to keep everyone safe and allow crews to perform their jobs effectively,’ wrote the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Faust, North Carolina, recorded 14.5 inches of snow, while West Critz, Virginia got 12.5 inches. Harrisburg, Tennessee received more than 9 inches of accumulation.

In the town of Cape Carteret, high winds sent thick snow blowing sideways, promoting the National Weather Service to warn that travel was ‘Treacherous and Potentially Life-Threatening especially if you become stranded.’  

In dramatic footage released by the Gastonia, North Carolina police, a train plowed at high speed into a semi-truck that had gotten stuck on the tracks, crushing the vehicle. No one was hurt. 

Saturday’s storm forced more than 1,000 flight cancellations at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, a major hub for American Airlines. 

A 300-strong ‘snow team’ was working to clear runways, taxiways, roads and sidewalks, the airport said.

More than 600 flights were cancelled at Atlanta’s international airport, the world’s busiest.

‘An explosively deepening coastal cyclone will continue to bring moderate to heavy snow, high winds, and possibly blizzard conditions for the Carolinas,’ the National Weather Service said Saturday.

‘An intense surge of arctic air behind the coastal storm will send below freezing temperatures down toward South Florida by Sunday morning.’

Davis, West Virginia recorded the lowest temperature in the lower 48 states on Saturday – a frigid minus 28 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 33 Celsius).

Nearly 175,000 customers remained without power on Saturday night, mostly in the south, according to poweroutage.us, with Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana hardest hit.

Around 35 million Americans were put under extreme weather warnings for snow and ice as Winter Storm Gianna gathered strength Saturday. 

It is expected to develop into the arctic phenomenon of a bomb cyclone Sunday morning, bringing unusually low temperatures to the Southeast, including typically to mild states like Florida.

The impact is already being felt, with the worst hit areas being the Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia, as well as many other regions still trying to recover from the impact of intense snow and ice from last weekend’s storm.

In North Carolina, the National Park Service announced the closure of campgrounds and some beaches at the Outer Banks, a series of barrier islands off the coast of southern state that are vulnerable to storms.

It said oceanfront structures were threatened, and a section of highway that threads through its dunes was closed.

In another southern state, Mississippi, Governor Tate Reeves said the US Army Corps of Engineers helped to install generators at critical sites, and authorities were opening 79 shelters and warming centers across the state.

The freezing weather forced NASA to postpone a key fueling test over the weekend of the 322-foot rocket that is on the Cape Canaveral launch pad in Florida. 

That in turn is likely to push back by at least a couple of days a planned, manned Moon flyby slated for next month.

Staying in Florida, the chance of snow flurries around the Tampa Bay late Saturday night into Sunday morning was set at 10 to 20 percent by the National Weather Service.

The polar temperature will shroud the region in ‘cold, blustery conditions’.

Locals were urged to secure any loose objects as part of the wind advisory, which will also make it hard to drive high–profile vehicles. 

Being on the water will also become perilous for small boats and vessels, according to authorities. 

Orlando could drop to 25 degrees or below, while Miami may see mid–30s Sunday into Monday. That level of cold has not been seen since 2010. 

Wind chills in northern and central parts of the state could fall to the single digits, as well.

The bitter cold has already shuttered the theme parks in Orlando, where both Disney World and Universal Studios announced temporary closures due to the freezing temperatures.

Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park will be closed until Monday.

The freezing conditions are so unique that they could even affect some of Florida’s wildlife, including freezing fruit trees.

 ‘Green iguanas are sensitive to the cold and can become stunned when temperatures fall into the 40s and 30s,’ meteorologist Brandon Buckingham told AccuWeather. ‘When that happens, they may lose their grip and fall from the trees.’

The storm is expected to strengthen as it tracks north along the coast into Sunday.

As of Saturday, more than 150,000 Americans in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee were still without power following Fern, according to PowerOutage.us.

Overnight lows could drop into the teens and 20s, putting locals at risk.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, said that his residents, ‘need a clear timeline for power restoration, transparency on the number of linemen deployed, and a better understanding of when work will be completed in their neighborhood.’

Prolonged exposure to extreme cold can cause hypothermia and frostbite within minutes.

Mississippi officials said the massive winter storm was its worst since 1994. About 80 warming centers were opened, and National Guard troops delivered supplies by truck and helicopter.

In Georgia, where temperatures dropped below freezing, 65-year-old Dolla Johnson slept in a warming center to stay out of the cold.

‘If I hadn´t have been here, I would be sleeping outside,’ said Johnson, who is homeless. ‘There´s nowhere else to go. The bridges are not safe. Everything’s freezing over.’

Experts warned of the growing risks of hypothermia. Frostbite was also a concern in the South, where some people may lack sufficiently warm clothing, said Dr. David Nestler, an emergency medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Winter Storm Gianna arrives on the heels of the Winter Storm Fern, which has claimed more than 100 lives from Texas to New Jersey – with roughly half of them in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. 

While some deaths have been attributed to hypothermia, others are suspected to be related to carbon monoxide exposure. Officials have not released specific details about some deaths.

In North Carolina, hundreds of National Guard soldiers readied to help and state workers worked to prepare roads.

The city of Wake Forest saw a steady stream of people filling propane tanks Friday at Holding Oil and Gas, including José Rosa, who arrived after striking out at three other places.

‘I’m here in this cold weather, and I don’t like it,’ Rosa said as he held a 20-pound (9-kilogram) tank.

In Dare County, home to much of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, residents worried that more unoccupied houses in communities like Rodanthe and Buxton could collapse into the Atlantic Ocean.