Winter Wallop of Snow, Ice Expected Across South

Just days after snow and ice glazed the Mid-Mississippi Valley to the Mid-Atlantic, a new winter wallop is preparing to aim for the South to round out the work week.
 
Cold air continues to billow southward across the central and eastern U.S., leading to temperatures that are struggling to climb past the freezing mark. At the same time, an area of low pressure is starting to come together across Texas, and will motor through the Mid-South and into the Carolinas. The result will be a rare winter storm across the region, capable of bringing travel to a standstill on Thursday and Friday.
 
Winter Storm Warnings stretch from northeastern Texas to western Kentucky, western Tennessee and western Mississippi. This includes the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Shreveport, La., Little Rock, Ark., Tupelo, Miss., Cape Girardeau, Mo., Memphis, Tenn., and Paducah, Ky. Winter Weather Advisories stretch from New Mexico to the lower Ohio Valley, including Oklahoma City, St. Louis, and Marion, Ill. Winter Storm Watches extend eastward across the Tennessee Valley and into the western Carolinas, including Atlanta, Nashville and Knoxville, Tenn., Huntsville, Ala., Asheville, N.C., and Bowling Green, Ky.
 
Snow will develop across central and eastern Texas on Thursday morning, mixing with sleet and rain by the afternoon. This pattern will be repeated to the east, with a sloppy snow-and-ice mess expected to last through Friday morning in the lower Mississippi Valley and through Friday night in the Southeast. As much as 2 to 4 inches of snow can be expected within the warning area, in addition to 0.05 to 0.10 inches of ice. Outside of this core, an inch or two of snow will accumulate on everything through Friday.
 
Meanwhile, moderate to locally heavy rainfall will occur on the warm side of this area of low pressure. Rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches will be possible from southeastern Texas to southern Mississippi. This may lead to localized flooding in urban areas and in poor drainage areas. Remember, “Turn Around, Don’t Drown!” if you approach a flooded roadway. While a few embedded thunderstorms will also be possible on Friday, widespread severe weather is not anticipated at this time.
 
A piece of this storm system will combine with an arctic cold front that will move across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes on Friday and through the Northeast on Saturday. Along and ahead of this front, light snow will develop across the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, and Mid-Atlantic on Friday into Saturday. Here, snow accumulations will generally be under 2 inches, but localized snow accumulations of 3 or 4 inches will be possible, especially over higher elevations.
 
Be sure to download the WeatherBug app to stay up to date on the latest on this changing weather. Regardless of the exact track, it’s never too early to have a supply kit packed in case of inclement weather. A simple kit including a weather radio, water, blankets, batteries and non-perishable food items will go a long way in the event of a power outage. It’s always best to avoid travelling in rough weather as the roads will be dangerous.