WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- A major snowstorm will strike the U.S. Midwest and Northeast this weekend, with roughly 100 million people reportedly under some form of a winter storm watch, warning or advisory.

AccuWeather is predicting blizzard conditions to wallop interior portions of the Northeast with up to 40 inches of snow.

The storm, the second in the country this year, will dump mass amounts of snow and ice in the North and heavy rains and severe weather in the South over the weekends. It's expected to be more significant for the Northeast than the first.

Travel already has been affected, with nearly 500 flights canceled as of Friday morning, according to the flight-tracking site FlightAware.com.

The latest model forecast indicates snow starting Saturday evening in Boston and New York, which will then turn into a wintry mix and freezing rain overnight into Sunday.

The National Weather Service in New York is forecasting 3 to 6 inches of sleet and snow plus possible ice. New York may warm up enough for rain Sunday morning, but freezing is expected by the evening when temperatures plummet.

Boston could get more than 6 inches of snow, with much more to the north and ice to the south, according to local media reports.

In Missouri, Kansas City and St. Louis, which received the brunt of a storm last week, will get less accumulation this time though winds could gust up to 35 mph, causing blowing and drifting snow through Saturday night, said the reports.

The Interstate 95 corridor through New England seems to be where the bulk of the ice will form, with up to an inch of freezing rain possible in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

The extreme cold follows the storm and moves into the rest of the eastern United States on Monday, according to the weather service. Enditem

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