Heavy snow and ice is forecast for the southern United States on Thursday and Friday

On By Littum

A streak of what forecasters are calling “heavy snow and disruptive ice” is expected to pile up across the South through the end of the week. From the southern plains of Texas and Oklahoma to the Carolina coastal plains, much of this winter precipitation is expected to fall in places where people are less accustomed to winter weather, and will likely cause dangerous driving conditions, power outages and school closings.

  • In the southern United States, it doesn’t take huge amounts of snow or ice to disrupt everyday life.

  • Over half a foot of heavy snow is expected to create hazardous travel conditions along and south of Interstate 40 across Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee.

  • Farther south, along and just north of Interstate 20 from Texas to Georgia, snow will likely change to sleet and freezing rain as warmer air noses in above the surface freezing point.

  • The region will continue to see cooler temperatures into next week, extending the likelihood of hazardous travel conditions.

By early Thursday morning, snow was already falling across northern Texas and into Oklahoma as the storm began to take shape in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of an expected shift to the northeast. The heavier snow will likely remain in northern Texas and into Oklahoma. Most of them likely Snowfall totals in Texas will be between two and four inches, mainly along and north of I-20, in an area averaging less than two inches per month. season.

To anticipate the potential impacts, Dallas schools will be closed Thursday and Friday. Gov. Greg Abbott used a news conference Wednesday to warn drivers: “Be careful. Be careful.”

“We’re not used to driving on ice and snow,” he told his fellow Texans. “We are not used to driving in such conditions.”

As the storm crosses the Gulf of Mexico Thursday into Friday, any slight change in its path could result in rainfall that deviates from the forecast in any given area. A slightly more northerly track would move the heavier snow further north and lift the range of freezing rain and sleet. A more southerly track would do the opposite, bringing the heavier snow deeper into the south and leaving northern areas dry.

Winter precipitation is expected in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas from Thursday night into Friday. By early Friday morning, it will have risen further east over Tennessee, northern Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. While Tennessee is no stranger to winter storms, some areas, like Memphis, could receive their biggest two-day snowfall in 40 years.

Forecasters in Nashville reminded locals not to get hung up on the exact amounts, as any snow could cause dangerous travel in the region. In Atlanta, it has been almost 11 years since a small snowstorm, known locally as snowmageddon, shut down the city and became a punchline for a “Saturday Night Live” sketch.

Although snow has fallen in the city since then, it can still catch people off guard as the type of precipitation changes throughout the day. What is expected to start as snow Friday morning will likely turn to sleet and then freezing rain across the Atlanta metro area, turning untreated roads into ice rinks by the evening hours.

Across North Carolina, a similar scenario will begin to unfold around noon Friday and last overnight into Saturday. Accumulations of up to two inches are currently expected in the mid-Atlantic area east of the Allegheny Mountains.

The storm is then expected to move offshore where it will strengthen but remain far enough away to avoid being a major threat to the Northeast.

Abnormal cold across the East Coast is expected to continue into next week, allowing for some snow to linger. And where the snow has melted during the day, it can refreeze at night, creating ongoing transport hazards.