Winter storm begins to move across the South, gaining strength and could cause extreme impacts

Snow, freezing rain and rain battered the Southern Plains Thursday as a fierce winter storm intensified and began moving across the South.

The storm’s footprint will only become wider as it brings damaging weather to nearly 1,400 miles to the south in the coldest air of the season and could cause significant, even extreme, impacts in areas not adapted to winter weather .

Cold precipitation will begin in parts of west and north Texas early Thursday morning and will expand into much of north Texas throughout the day, while areas farther south will see heavy rain.

Dallas Independent School District, the second-largest independent school district in Texas, announced it would close all schools and offices Thursday and Friday because of the storm, according to its website. Schools in nearby Plano Independent School District are also closed.

ERCOT, the operator of the state’s power grid, said in a weather watch issued Wednesday that cold temperatures will increase power demand in Texas but that grid conditions are expected to be normal. During 2021’s catastrophic winter storms and prolonged freeze, the state’s power grid failed, killing more than 200 people.

By Thursday night, snow, sleet and freezing rain will expand into more of the Southern Plains and into the Mississippi Valley.

The Little Rock, Arkansas, school district also closed all schools and offices Thursday and Friday. Snow will arrive in the city in the early afternoon, before sleet develops overnight, making travel dangerous.

Any amount of ice is dangerous; just a thin layer—even a tenth of an inch—can turn a paved road into an ice rink, causing people to slip and vehicles to slide out of control, Just like what happened over the weekend in central America. Ice can also crush power lines and cause power outages.

Parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas are expected to experience at least moderate impacts due to the threat of ice and snow, according to the Winter Storm Severity Index. Some areas are likely to experience significant or even extreme impacts from this storm, meaning daily life could be severely disrupted and travel conditions could become hazardous.

The storm will move farther east Thursday night and Friday, bringing chaotic winter weather to much of the South. It’s still possible that its trajectory could change slightly and potentially alter the ice and snow outcomes.

The highest snowfall totals were seen from northeastern Texas and southeastern Oklahoma to parts of Tennessee and the southern Appalachians. Several inches of snow could fall across the area, with up to a half-foot of cover in some places, especially in central Arkansas.

Northern areas of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia could see 3 inches or more of snow Thursday night into Friday night. Some of these areas may start out as snow but turn into a mix of ice and snow as warm air moves into the area.

That’s likely the case in Atlanta, where the city hasn’t seen an inch of snow in nearly seven years, but snow is unlikely during this storm. Rainfall will start as brief flurries of snow early Friday morning but will soon mix with sleet and freezing rain. This icy precipitation will continue into the night, mixed with rain at times.

The National Weather Service office serving Atlanta warned Thursday to “plan for hazardous travel conditions,” noting that travel could be difficult or impossible Friday through Saturday.

All city government offices in Atlanta will be closed Friday and several warming centers have been opened in the city, according to a news release issued Wednesday. The city also began pre-treating roads ahead of the storm on Thursday.

As the storm approaches the Atlantic Coast Friday night, precipitation quickly expands eastward, with a mix of ice and snow reaching the Carolinas. Charlotte, North Carolina, has not recorded measurable snowfall (at least 0.1 inches) in nearly two years, but its snow drought could be broken this weekend.

Another storm swooping south from Canada will work with the southern storm Friday night to pull moisture northward and spread precipitation across much of the Midwest and East.

A rapid snowfall totaling 1 to 3 inches or less is possible from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Friday night into early Saturday morning. The storm quickly moved out of the U.S. Saturday morning, leaving behind gusty winds, especially in the Northeast.

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