Weekend storm to bring snow to part of East Coast, including the Carolinas and Virginia
A coastal storm will deliver snow to part of the southeastern United States on Sunday before eyeing the mid-Atlantic coast and New England on Sunday night.
In today’s Forecast Feed, AccuWeather’s Geoff Cornish tracks the potential for snow across the Midwest and Northeast from a brewing storm brought on by very cold air.
A shift in the jet stream and just enough cold air will pave the way for a band of snow from southern Alabama and Georgia to Virginia later this weekend, and the snow may not stop there, with a risk of a significant snowfall in part of the Northeast.
How much snow falls in the southern parts of Alabama and Georgia, and the eastern parts of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware, as well as farther up along the mid-Atlantic coast and into southeastern New England, will depend on the exact track of the storm, as a small shift can make a big difference. At this time, a general coating to an inch is forecast with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 3 inches.
The timing for the snow in southern Alabama and southwestern Georgia would be late Saturday night. From southeastern Georgia to Delaware, the snow risk would expand northward Sunday.
At this time, the storm is expected to remain just far enough off the coast in the Southeast to keep snow and a wintry mix light, rather than intense.
"The best chance of an inch or more of wet snow would be just inland of the coast in the Southeast," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
The storm looks different than the major snowstorm that blanketed the Gulf Coast states on Jan. 22, 2025.
Snow is expected to begin in the Florida Panhandle and southern Georgia Saturday night, but temperatures may be too high for snow to accumulate. By the time it is cold enough, the storm may be moving away.
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Farther north, the storm will get a bit stronger during the day Sunday. "In cities such as Lumberton, Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and then up toward Norfolk, Virginia, area temperatures will likely be around 34 degrees Fahrenheit during the peak of the snow, which may allow some slush to accumulate, mainly on non-paved surfaces," Anderson said.
“While some locations may only have a few snowflakes, other areas could pick up a coating or more," AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex DaSilva added. "Even a brief burst of wintry weather can create slick and hazardous travel conditions, especially on bridges and overpasses.”
On Sunday night, there is a possibility of accumulating snow from Delaware and New Jersey to southeastern New York. From Sunday night to early Monday, there is the potential for accumulating snow from southern New England to Maine and Atlantic Canada. Areas most likely to receive a few inches of snow are Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Nova Scotia.
Quick movement of the storm would limit the amount of accumulation, so the storm from Sunday to early Monday would not be a major event. However, travelers across the region should be prepared for delays and disruptions.
"Many communities in the Southeast have limited snowplows and road treatment resources, which can allow hazardous road conditions to linger longer than in Northern states that routinely deal with winter weather," DaSilva said.
If accumulating snow extends back to the Interstate 95 cities in the Northeast, significant travel delays would unfold on the streets, highways and major airports around the start of the new week.
Prior to the storm's arrival in the Southeast, a couple of episodes of accumulating snow will occur in the Appalachians, due to clipper storms diving southeastward from Canada into the weekend.
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