OMAHA, Neb. >> Another storm system is affecting millions of people in the middle of the U.S., leaving parts of the Midwest and Great Plains under blizzard conditions and a broad swath of neighboring states at risk of high winds and wildfires.

Roughly 72 million people were under a wind advisory or warning Wednesday, with winds gusting over 45 mph, according to Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.

At this time of year, cold air lingering in the north collides with warm air from the south to produce strong, low pressure systems, Jackson said. But Wednesday’s weather is the third storm system to rapidly develop in recent weeks and bring high winds to a large swath of the U.S., a “very active pattern” since February, Jackson said.

At least 42 people died over the weekend when dynamic storms unleashed tornadoes, blinding dust and wildfires — leaving behind uprooted trees and flattening hundreds of homes and businesses across eight U.S. states in the South and Midwest.

A band from southwestern Kansas up to central Wisconsin was expected to see as little as 2 inches of snow or as much as 1 foot Wednesday. Combined with high winds, forecasters warned of whiteout conditions.

The Kansas Department of Transportation closed more than 250 miles of Interstate 70 from the Colorado border east to Salina, Kansas, because of winter weather.

Blizzard conditions Wednesday led to near-zero visibility in south central Nebraska, the state patrol said in a Facebook post urging people to stay off the roads. More than 160 miles of Interstate 80 cutting east from Lincoln west to Lexington was closed Wednesday morning. By midday, nearly 70 miles of Interstate 29 running along the border between eastern Nebraska and western Iowa had closed. Stalled cars, jackknifed semi-trailers, crashes and downed power lines contributed to road closures throughout the area.

Where it’s not snowing, there are still very strong winds. Gusts combined with dry conditions from Texas and Oklahoma up through Arkansas and central Missouri bring the potential for wildfires.

The fire threat ramped up Tuesday and persisted Wednesday in the region, with renewed risk in parts of Oklahoma still reeling from an outbreak of wildfires that started Friday. More than 400 homes were severely damaged or destroyed, and at least four people died due to the fires or high winds, officials said.

The Texas A&M Forest Service reported Wednesday that they responded to 14 new wildfires Tuesday that burned 18,518 acres across Texas.

Crews were also responding to dozens of fires in Arkansas, where winds posed additional risk. Traffic was temporarily shut down in both directions on a portion of Interstate 530 southeast of Little Rock because of smoke from a grass fire, but was reopened by the evening.