Snowstorm could snarl travel across parts of Southeast
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jan 8, 2021 8:43 PM EDT
A storm that AccuWeather meteorologists have been keeping tabs on for over a week began to trigger snow and cause slippery travel across parts of the southeastern United States on Thursday night. Snow will continue to spread eastward to part of the Atlantic coast into Friday night, but as is often the case, the heaviest snow is forecast to fall over the southern Appalachians, and milder air may limit wintry weather farther to the east and south.
"Marginal temperatures and a weak to moderate storm that continues to move along, rather than a strong, slow-moving storm, will play a role in keeping a lid on snowfall accumulations, especially outside of higher-elevation locations over the interior South with this storm," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger said.
This radar image taken at 2:30 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 8, 2020, show rain in green and snow in blue. (AccuWeather)
Ahead of the storm, a swath of counties across western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee were placed under winter storm warnings with surrounding counties under winter weather advisories.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Air temperatures during much of the storm may hover above the freezing mark in some Piedmont locations.
"Snow can still fall at temperatures above freezing, but in this case, and especially so in the Southern states, it must snow at a fast and heavy rate to bring more than a light accumulation," Deger explained.
Areas to the northwest of the Interstate 85 corridor in North Carolina are expected to pick up 1 to 3 inches of snow, but areas to the southeast will have little to no snow accumulation. Conditions will change rapidly over a short distance around cities such as Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, and Greenville, South Carolina. Rain or a rain and snow mix will occur to the southeast of these cities, while all snow or a wintry mix will fall to the northwest of these hubs.
Cities such as Asheville, North Carolina, and Bristol, Tennessee, can expect several inches of snow from the storm. The mountains in northwestern North Carolina and northeastern Tennessee are forecast to pick up 6-12 inches of snow with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 18 inches over the peaks. Temperatures in the zone that will experience the heaviest snowfall during the storm will spend more time at or below the freezing mark.
The last storm that brought accumulating snow to the southern Appalachians struck on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with totals of 4.4 inches of snow in Bristol, Tennessee, and 2.1 inches of snow in Asheville, North Carolina.
Snow managed to pay a brief visit to the mountains of northern Georgia and the hills of northern Alabama.
Significant moisture may stop short of places such as Richmond, Virginia, with the likelihood that accumulating snow remains southwest of the city. Moderate to heavy snow managed to push northward into southwestern Virginia on Friday, where several inches of snow can pile up over the mountains and up to a few inches in the valleys by the time the storm moves away Friday night.
Motorists throughout the snowfall area, even where an accumulation under an inch is forecast, should be on the lookout for slippery conditions. Often with marginal temperatures, bridges, overpasses and areas shaded from the sun on a clear day are the first places to become slushy and slippery.
The same storm system will bring rain on its southern and eastern flanks. Even though the storm is forecast to move along at a steady pace and rainfall is likely to be under 2 inches, streams and rivers are already running high from prior storms this winter in the eastern parts of the Carolinas. This storm's rainfall can slow the rate of recession or lead to a secondary rise on some waterways.
The storm has lost its opportunity to swing far enough to the north to bring any snow or a wintry mix to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston, a scenario forecasters were pondering earlier this week. A dry end to the week and a dry weekend are projected for this portion of the I-95 corridor as meteorologists have much greater confidence that the storm will be out to sea when it makes a turn to the north.
AccuWeather forecasters will be watching the movement of a second storm that is expected to hit the South and could end up raising the risk of wintry conditions in the Northeast next week.
The next storm is forecast to spread moderate to heavy snow southward through the Rockies this weekend and into portions of New Mexico and western and central Texas on Sunday. This is the same storm that will bring heavy rain and mountain snow to the Northwest to end this week.
The weather pattern late next week and the following weekend has the potential to turn active with the risk of one or more storms turning northward along the Atlantic coast just as much colder air begins to flow southeastward from Canada. Major winter storms along the Eastern Seaboard and Appalachians often evolve from a setup like the one anticipated later this January.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Winter Weather
Snowstorm could snarl travel across parts of Southeast
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jan 8, 2021 8:43 PM EDT
A storm that AccuWeather meteorologists have been keeping tabs on for over a week began to trigger snow and cause slippery travel across parts of the southeastern United States on Thursday night. Snow will continue to spread eastward to part of the Atlantic coast into Friday night, but as is often the case, the heaviest snow is forecast to fall over the southern Appalachians, and milder air may limit wintry weather farther to the east and south.
"Marginal temperatures and a weak to moderate storm that continues to move along, rather than a strong, slow-moving storm, will play a role in keeping a lid on snowfall accumulations, especially outside of higher-elevation locations over the interior South with this storm," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger said.
This radar image taken at 2:30 p.m. EST Friday, Jan. 8, 2020, show rain in green and snow in blue. (AccuWeather)
Ahead of the storm, a swath of counties across western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee were placed under winter storm warnings with surrounding counties under winter weather advisories.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Air temperatures during much of the storm may hover above the freezing mark in some Piedmont locations.
"Snow can still fall at temperatures above freezing, but in this case, and especially so in the Southern states, it must snow at a fast and heavy rate to bring more than a light accumulation," Deger explained.
Areas to the northwest of the Interstate 85 corridor in North Carolina are expected to pick up 1 to 3 inches of snow, but areas to the southeast will have little to no snow accumulation. Conditions will change rapidly over a short distance around cities such as Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, and Greenville, South Carolina. Rain or a rain and snow mix will occur to the southeast of these cities, while all snow or a wintry mix will fall to the northwest of these hubs.
Cities such as Asheville, North Carolina, and Bristol, Tennessee, can expect several inches of snow from the storm. The mountains in northwestern North Carolina and northeastern Tennessee are forecast to pick up 6-12 inches of snow with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 18 inches over the peaks. Temperatures in the zone that will experience the heaviest snowfall during the storm will spend more time at or below the freezing mark.
The last storm that brought accumulating snow to the southern Appalachians struck on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with totals of 4.4 inches of snow in Bristol, Tennessee, and 2.1 inches of snow in Asheville, North Carolina.
Snow managed to pay a brief visit to the mountains of northern Georgia and the hills of northern Alabama.
Significant moisture may stop short of places such as Richmond, Virginia, with the likelihood that accumulating snow remains southwest of the city. Moderate to heavy snow managed to push northward into southwestern Virginia on Friday, where several inches of snow can pile up over the mountains and up to a few inches in the valleys by the time the storm moves away Friday night.
Motorists throughout the snowfall area, even where an accumulation under an inch is forecast, should be on the lookout for slippery conditions. Often with marginal temperatures, bridges, overpasses and areas shaded from the sun on a clear day are the first places to become slushy and slippery.
The same storm system will bring rain on its southern and eastern flanks. Even though the storm is forecast to move along at a steady pace and rainfall is likely to be under 2 inches, streams and rivers are already running high from prior storms this winter in the eastern parts of the Carolinas. This storm's rainfall can slow the rate of recession or lead to a secondary rise on some waterways.
The storm has lost its opportunity to swing far enough to the north to bring any snow or a wintry mix to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston, a scenario forecasters were pondering earlier this week. A dry end to the week and a dry weekend are projected for this portion of the I-95 corridor as meteorologists have much greater confidence that the storm will be out to sea when it makes a turn to the north.
AccuWeather forecasters will be watching the movement of a second storm that is expected to hit the South and could end up raising the risk of wintry conditions in the Northeast next week.
The next storm is forecast to spread moderate to heavy snow southward through the Rockies this weekend and into portions of New Mexico and western and central Texas on Sunday. This is the same storm that will bring heavy rain and mountain snow to the Northwest to end this week.
The weather pattern late next week and the following weekend has the potential to turn active with the risk of one or more storms turning northward along the Atlantic coast just as much colder air begins to flow southeastward from Canada. Major winter storms along the Eastern Seaboard and Appalachians often evolve from a setup like the one anticipated later this January.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo