(NEWSnet) – The weather is making news across the country, with forecasts ranging from what the National Weather Service called “life-threatening wind chills” in South Dakota to the possibility of tornadoes in the South.

School and flights were canceled in advance in parts of the South and Midwest in advance of the forecasts for Friday. Tornado watches were issued Friday morning in parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Blizzard conditions are likely in parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes, with the Great Lakes region further complicated by “lake effect snow.”

 

Republican candidates campaigning ahead of Monday's Iowa caucuses were already hampered by the severe winter weather, and Nikki Haley’s campaign canceled three Friday events and said it would be hosting “telephone town halls.”

"Travel is expected to be nearly impossible in rural areas today. Please stay off the roads if possible," the Iowa Department of Transportation posted on social media Friday morning.

In Idaho, a search was underway Thursday for three people caught in an avalanche in a backcountry area near the Montana border.

Then the weekend forecast calls for what the NWS calls “the first significant Arctic outbreak of the winter,” with numerous daily record cold marks expected to be set Sunday, Monday and Tuesday across several states.

 

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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