DO NOT take this storm lightly. This will turn into a life-threateningblizzard, especially for those that will be passing through. Those that live inthis part of the country understand full well how severe winter storms canbecome. They tell horror stories about storms such as a person getting totallydisoriented just trying to get from the house out to the barn. Those thatventure out ill prepared in such weather run the risk of being found in asnowdrift somewhere a couple of days later.The point has been made. This will be a ferocious blizzard that will paralyzenortheastern Kansas, eastern Nebraska, western Iowa, eastern South Dakota andwestern Minnesota. Travel through this region should not be attempted fromThursday afternoon on. You simply will not get through.

Just east of the blizzard zone, there is going to be an icy mix from centraland eastern Iowa through northwestern Illinois into Wisconsin. This will causetreacherous travel conditions and power outages. Not what you wanted to hear onthe verge of the holiday.

Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist John Kocet.