CNN — 

A powerful and sprawling storm is moving across the country and spawning severe thunderstorms with hurricane-force wind gusts that are knocking out power and causing damage Tuesday morning.

Tens of millions of people across the central and southern US are at risk Tuesday of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and fire weather on the storm’s warm side and blizzard conditions on its cold side.

Here’s the latest:

• Widespread power outages: Severe thunderstorms rocked the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex around sunrise with wind gusts up to 78 mph. An 87 mph wind gust blew through southern Oklahoma. Over 400,000 homes and business lost power in Texas and Oklahoma early Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.us.

• Storm damage piling up: Fierce storms left behind a trail of damage in Texas and Oklahoma Tuesday morning. Part of a Benjamin Moore paint warehouse in Lewisville, Texas, collapsed amid powerful winds just before sunrise, CNN affiliate KTVT reported. In nearby Irving, Texas, police confirmed significant storm damage, including downed power lines. A mobile home was destroyed and another was damaged in Ada, Oklahoma – about 70 miles southeast of Oklahoma City – after a possible tornado early Tuesday morning, according to CNN affiliate KOCO. Damage survey crews from the National Weather Service will confirm if the damage was from a tornado in the coming days.

• The storm is massive: Impacts in the central US stretched from border to border Tuesday morning, with severe thunderstorms raging in the South, snow and ice falling in the Midwest and blizzard warnings in parts of the Plains.

• Blizzard conditions possible: Blizzard warnings were posted Tuesday in parts of six states and were active in Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska. “Whiteout conditions are expected and will make travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening,” the National Weather Service in North Platte, Nebraska, warned. Additional blizzard warnings will go into effect Tuesday evening from the Kansas City, Missouri, area to just south of Minneapolis.

• Extreme fire risk: A level 3 of 3 extremely critical fire weather risk is in effect Tuesday for a large portion of Texas — including Austin and San Antonio — and part of southeastern New Mexico, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Powerful winds and very dry soil in the area are primed for “very rapid wildfire spread/extreme fire behavior,” warned the SPC.

• Mardi Gras threatened: The powerful storm comes amid Mardi Gras celebrations across the South. In New Orleans, officials rushed to reschedule Mardi Gras day events and shorten parade routes to avoid the potentially destructive weather. A high wind warning is in effect for the city from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time on Tuesday as winds are expected to be sustained at 20 to 30 mph with gusts over 50 mph possible. The city is also under a level 3 of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening. New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick warned she will pull the plug on festivities entirely if the weather worsens: “I won’t do it lightly, but I will do it.”

• Dust storm: A massive dust storm swept over swaths of New Mexico, Texas and Mexico on Monday, bringing violent winds and cloaking roadways in near-zero visibility. Officially called a haboob, the fast-moving wall of dust and debris prompted New Mexico officials to close parts of multiple interstates after the sudden wall of dust appeared to force some vehicles off the road. Video taken by a passing truck driver near the city of Deming, New Mexico, showed emergency vehicles positioned around a tangle of stopped vehicles, including tractor trailers and an RV-towing pickup truck with debris scattered across the highway.

• First test of depleted NOAA: The dangerous storm is the first major weather event after staffing at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its National Weather Service was slashed by the Trump administration –– cuts scientists say will have dangerous consequences for the safety of the American public. Around 800 employees were laid off across NOAA last week.

The storm will increase in intensity as it moves east Tuesday, threatening the Lower Mississippi River Valley with strong tornadoes, powerful winds, hail and heavy rainfall. These storms will last into the night as they track over the Southeast, with tornadoes still possible after dark. Nighttime tornadoes are nearly twice as likely to be deadly as those occurring during the day, a 2022 study found.

Louisiana, Mississippi and parts of Arkansas, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle will likely experience the worst severe weather Tuesday, especially from the afternoon onward. Some strong tornadoes, wind gusts over 74 mph and large hail are possible for cities like New Orleans and Shreveport, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi. These storms will likely bring heavy rainfall totaling as much as 3 inches.

Other parts of the Mississippi Valley and Southeast will see a slightly less intense threat for severe storms, but tornadoes, gusty winds and hail are possible in Memphis, Tennessee, Birmingham, Alabama, and Atlanta.

The wide-reaching storm will hit the East Coast Wednesday.

More than 29 million people from Florida to Pennsylvania – including Washington, DC, and Baltimore – are under a level 2 of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms, according to the SPC. Damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes are possible within these storms.

About 8 million people in the Carolinas and southern Virginia are under a level 3 of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms. Storms in this area could unleash damaging wind gusts in excess of 75 mph and tornadoes.

Heavy rain and strong winds will impact much of the Northeast while the storm creates blizzard conditions in parts of the Midwest.

Wind gusts of 40 mph or more could occur over much of the eastern half of the US throughout the day, even outside of any wet or wintry weather.

These winds could wreak havoc on air travel, especially with hubs in Chicago and the New York City area impacted. More than a dozen states could also face power outages.

Much of the storm’s precipitation will come to an end Thursday, but gusty winds will persist in its wake.