Tens of millions of residents along the East Coast are bracing for several inches of snow Sunday followed by dangerously cold temperatures that will grip much of the country from the Northern Plains to the tip of Maine.

"The level and extensiveness of the frigid air may be tough to match the rest of the winter," forecasters warned.

Residents across the country are bracing for dangerously low temperatures while the East Coast contends with a thick blanket of snow.

A rare winter storm charging through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday has closed highways and airports and prompted the first blizzard warning for southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.