Axios

A winter storm of unrivaled scope is affecting the vast majority of the continental U.S. Friday, as damaging winds ramp up from the Midwest to the Southeast, downing trees and power lines amid unusually frigid conditions.

Threat level: Disruptions to holiday travel and threats to life will continue into Saturday as strong winds and poor visibility wreak havoc on major airline hubs.

Editor's note: Follow new updates on the winter storm as it slams the vast majority of the continental U.S.

An extraordinary stretch of extreme winter weather is blasting the Lower 48 as a powerful Arctic cold front sweeps south out of Canada, unleashing howling winds and sparking a bomb cyclone forming in the Midwest.

The big picture: The scope of the extreme weather stretches from coast to coast, with the National Weather Service's map of warnings and watches resembling an apocalyptic coloring book.

A "tremendously impactful" winter storm has overtaken much of the U.S. and a "powerful Arctic front" was sweeping into the eastern third of the nation overnight just days before Christmas, per the National Weather Service.

By the numbers: Over 200 million people, or roughly 60% of the U.S. population, are under some form of winter weather warning or advisory due to the "historic" storm, the NWS said in a Friday morning update.