A powerful winter storm is set to blast portions of the U.S. with accumulating snow, cold temperatures, strong winds and rain just as millions of people across the country prepare to travel early for Thanksgiving.

A powerful winter storm has the potential to slam portions of New York state with accumulating snow, cold temperatures, strong winds and rain – just as many of people prepare to travel early for Thanksgiving.

Late Sunday, more than 25 million people were covered by National Weather Service watches and warnings related to winter storm activity.

Powerful storms are expected to impact travel across the U.S. ahead of Thanksgiving travel and the remnants of Sara will bring rain to the Gulf Coast.

With millions of people preparing to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, two strong storm systems, including the first major winter storm of the season, are forecast to bring snow, wind and rain across a large swath of the United States this week.

While the Thanksgiving Day forecast remains murky and federal forecasters often avoid predictions beyond a week out, the US Climate Prediction Center’s six-to-10-day outlook shows above-average precipitation in much of the western and northwestern US, and below normal precipitation in the Southwest and eastern US.