Maps show where winter storm threatens to bring heavy snow, ice, brutal cold this weekend

Greater than 200 million folks throughout the USA are within the path of a significant winter storm that is forecast to convey a mixture of ice, snow and frigid circumstances to a 2,000-mile expanse of the nation via the weekend. About two-thirds of the U.S. might be affected by what’s going to probably be the biggest winter storm in no less than 5 years.

Freezing rain, snow and rain begins Friday within the Southern Plains earlier than shifting into the Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys on Saturday after which heading into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic on Sunday into Monday.

The system is forecast to be slow-moving, that means lengthy durations of snow and ice may have time to build up. 

Winter climate alerts continued to be issued from the Southern Plains throughout the South and into the Northeast via Monday, impacting no less than 185 million folks. Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., are below a state of emergency, and 35 states are anticipated to be affected by the storm. 9 states have activated their Nationwide Guard troops. 

Excessive chilly temperatures are additionally a significant concern. Friday morning, thermometers within the Minneapolis space have been at 21 levels beneath zero, with wind chills even colder. Temperatures via the weekend are anticipated to sink to file lows throughout components of the Southern Plains and Mid-Atlantic. 

Maps present what to anticipate from the winter storm

A low-pressure system is forecast to develop within the Southwest and work together with incoming Gulf moisture and Arctic chilly air. Forecast fashions point out it is going to start dropping precipitation on Friday within the Southern Plains.

The system is anticipated to slowly transfer eastward, bringing snow and accumulating ice. Forecast fashions proceed to vary because the occasion nears, however it’s set to impression broad swaths of the U.S., from Arizona to Maine, mentioned Nationwide Climate Service meteorologists Wealthy Otto and Tony Fracasso, of the company’s Climate Prediction Heart.

Heavy snow is anticipated over a large band of the nation, with a foot or extra doubtlessly headed for components of the Texas Panhandle and the Ozarks, Otto and Fracasso informed CBS Information. The best snowfall totals — probably as much as 2 toes — might accumulate within the central Appalachians and into the Northeast, they mentioned.

Based on CBS New York meteorologist Scott Padgett, some components of New York might see anyplace from 6 to 12 inches of snow. 

In the meantime, the polar vortex that’s often located over the North Pole is dipping down into the U.S., bringing unusually chilly temperatures beginning Thursday and lasting via the primary half of subsequent week. Excessive wind chills of greater than 50 levels beneath zero have been reported in components Minnesota and North Dakota.

Communities from Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma to Washington, D.C., and New York Metropolis might see data set for the coldest excessive temperatures. Frostbite can happen in as little as 5 to 10 minutes if uncovered to this harmful chilly. 

The cruel chilly means snow and ice will linger on the bottom nicely into the center of the week after the storm passes.

Ice is anticipated to build up alongside the southern aspect of the storm’s monitor. Contemplating the storm’s sluggish motion, the quantity of accumulation is anticipated to be as much as three-quarters of an inch and even an inch of ice in some areas. Impacts of this magnitude can convey down energy traces. With the cruel chilly in place, energy outages might go away folks freezing with out indoor warmth in some communities.

Components of northeastern Texas, northern Mississippi and southwestern Tennessee will probably really feel probably the most substantial results of the ice, mentioned Otto and Fracasso. They famous that icy circumstances are additionally anticipated to have vital impacts on a block of the Southeast from northern Georgia into the Carolinas.

Attainable snowfall quantities upwards of 12-18 inches might be seen from the Southern Plains up into the Northeast, however the anticipated totals are nonetheless in flux for particular person areas as forecast fashions proceed to return collectively. 

As this technique strikes east, snowfall quantities will differ relying on location.