JACKSON, Mich. (AP) — Utility crews from Michigan will help their counterparts in North Carolina restore power to thousands of homes and businesses following a series of severe winter storms that swept across the nation’s midsection and parts of the South.

Nearly 50 Consumers Energy workers were scheduled leave Wednesday for Newton, North Carolina, the Jackson, Michigan-based utility said Wednesday.

Crews may be asked to perform additional restoration work in neighboring states because of the widespread damage and additional severe weather expected, Consumers Energy said.

Blasts of snow and deep cold have overwhelmed power grids, leaving millions of people in the United States without electricity. Utilities from Minnesota to Texas and Mississippi have implemented rolling blackouts to ease the burden on power grids straining to meet extreme demand for heat and electricity.