Southern U.S. Digging Out from Atypical Winter Weather Event

The southern U.S. is digging out from the biggest snowstorm in years, complicating travel and bringing life to a halt in many communities. Here is the latest on this winter weather maker as well as what other parts of the U.S. should expect messy conditions this weekend.

Disruptive Winter Storm Slams the South

Life was disrupted across the southern U.S. to close out the work week as a massive storm system unleashed snow, freezing rain, and sleet across a part of the country not used to dealing with wintry precipitation of this magnitude. More than a dozen states came under the grip of this storm that fired up late Wednesday across Texas before moving into the southeastern U.S.

Several school districts canceled classes as a result of the wintry precipitation. Stores in Atlanta ran out of milk, bread, and water as residents stocked up in anticipation of the inclement conditions.

The weather was also responsible for the cancellation of over 1,500 flights on Thursday and about 500 on Friday across the region. The busy Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was hit particularly hard by the disruptions, causing a ripple effect across the country.

Dallas officially picked up 2.2 inches of snow, good enough for the biggest snowfall in the metro area since February 14, 2021. Oklahoma City saw 3.5 inches of snow, breaking the snowfall record for January 9.

The heaviest snow bands set up in a zone from eastern Texas and into western Tennessee, dropping over 6 inches of snow in some communities. Little Rock and Memphis both saw snow of this magnitude by the middle of the day Friday. The town of Mena in the west-central portions of Arkansas recorded 14.3 inches of snow.

Local officials are warning people to stay off the roads if possible. Several accidents have been reported as road conditions continued to deteriorate throughout the night Thursday and into Friday.

The snow line had reached portions of Tennessee, northern Alabama, northern Georgia, and the Carolinas. Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was also significantly impacted by the storm with over 900 flight cancellations and 450 delays reported on Friday alone.

The winter weather is forecast to creep up the coast and into the Northeast to start the weekend. This event is not likely to transition to a major nor'easter, however, it will be strong enough to deliver some annoyances. Widespread snow of about 1 to 3 inches is expected in this region with the upper portions of the mid-Atlantic coast expected to see the most accumulation.

Travel could be difficult in a zone from the Tennessee Valley and across to the Delmarva Peninsula due to the existing snow and ice and the chance of more wintry precipitation.