Huge Snowstorm Warning for Southeast USA…

Those lilly-livers from the South don’t know what real cold is but, still, this is serious thing for those tenderfoots who have never driven on ice or know how to shovel a walk.

Weather.com  –  Winter Storm Helena is beginning to spread its long-anticipated mess of snow and ice into the South, potentially snarling travel for days, as the threat for more snow increases along parts of the Northeast coast this weekend.

Winter storm warnings stretch from Alabama to the southern Delmarva peninsula, including Birmingham, Atlanta, Greenville/Spartanburg, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham and Norfolk.

Winter weather advisories are also posted for parts of the Deep South of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama mainly for potential ice accumulation.
Light snow spread across parts of the southern Plains and Mid-South Thursday night into early Friday. So far, anywhere from 1 to 3 inches had fallen across the Texas panhandle into central Oklahoma, while a dusting to an inch had accumulated east of there into Arkansas, west Tennessee and northern Mississippi. Some patchy freezing drizzle was reported in San Antonio, Texas, early Friday.

Friday: A strip of light snow will spread from Texas and Oklahoma to the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians. Some freezing drizzle, freezing rain or sleet is expected from parts of Texas to central Alabama.
Friday night: Snow from northern Alabama into north Georgia, upstate South Carolina, western, central and northeast North Carolina into southern Virginia. Bands of heavier snow are possible in these areas. Some freezing rain or sleet just to the south of that snow swath from central Louisiana and Mississippi to North Carolina.
Saturday: Snow, heavy for some, from southeast Virginia into northern South Carolina, tapering off in eastern North Carolina and southeast Virginia Saturday night.

Best chance for 6 inches or more of snow: A swath from upstate South Carolina to central and northeastern North Carolina into southeast Virginia, including Charlotte, Raleigh and Norfolk.
At least an inch of snow: A swath from the Texas panhandle into Oklahoma, Arkansas and west Tennessee, then from northern Alabama into north Georgia to east Tennessee, southwest and central Virginia.
Some ice accumulation: Primarily from parts of central Louisiana to south-central Mississippi, central Alabama and west Georgia, with accumulations of one-tenth to one-quarter inch possible, leading to slick roads, but generally below the threshold to lead to any widespread power outages or tree damage. Some light accumulations are also possible in parts of northern South Carolina and eastern North Carolina.

With colder air spilling in, any melted snow may refreeze on roads Saturday night, leading to dangerous travel into at least Sunday, if not into the Monday morning commute in some areas.

 

Friday: One round of light snow will zip though southern New England in the morning, then shift offshore by afternoon. The next round of snow will spread at least into the southern Delmarva Peninsula Friday night.
Saturday – Saturday night: Snow will spread up the East Coast from the Delmarva peninsula to New Jersey, Long Island and parts of the NYC Tri-State area, Rhode Island and eastern Massachusetts. This snow will continue Saturday night in southeast New England, accompanied by strong north to northeast winds, leading to blowing and drifting snow

Best chance for 6 inches or more of snow: Southern Delmarva Peninsula and far southeast New England, including Cape Cod, Nantucket Island, and Martha’s Vineyard.
At least an inch of snow: Southern Maryland, the rest of the Delmarva Peninsula, southern New Jersey, Long Island as far west as NYC, parts of Connecticut, Rhode Island, central and eastern Massachusetts, including the Boston metro.

Image Source:  AtlantaSnowJam.com