Texans warned to stay inside for up to five days as Winter Storm Fern begins nationwide rampage

Texans might be stuck inside for the next five days as winter storm Fern’s icy tentacles reach across the country.

Residents should stock up on enough food, medicine and other supplies to “hunker down, maybe until as late as Wednesday, and hold out while the weather goes through,” Kevin Oden, Dallas’s director of emergency management and crisis response, warned CNN.

“We definitely don’t believe that being on the roadways, particularly over these next 48 to 72 hours, is any place for folks to be,” Oden said.

Winter Storm Fern is expected to wallop parts of 40 states. REUTERS

Dallas has been in “response mode” since Friday afternoon, with officials pre-treating roads, preparing shelters and activating other emergency weather plans that have been in the making for months.

The city is zeroing in on its infrastructure to ensure the power stays on, water continues to flow and that homeless shelters are open and ready to accept those in need.

Sections of the Lone Star State were peppered with freezing rainfall overnight as winter storm Fern slowly made its way east.

Snow, ice and frigid temperatures are expected to hit parts of 40 states, with officials warning residents to stay inside.

Oklahoma City is expected to get 13 inches of snow, falling just short of the record reached in 2009. REUTERS

The Midwest saw wind chills as low as minus 40 degrees — which means frostbite can set in within just 10 minutes.

Oklahoma City is expected to near a record-setting snow dumping, with forecasters predicting 13 inches for the city. The most it has ever seen is 13.5 inches in on Christmas Eve 2009.

States of emergency have been issued in at least 15 other states, including Delaware and New York, as well as Washington, DC.

More than 8,000 flights across the US set to take off over the weekend have already been canceled.