Winter storm begins blitzing across the southern US
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jan 28, 2021 3:18 PM EDT
Winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings were issued across parts of the southern United States as a winter storm with snowfall was on the move Wednesday. The system put down a blanket of up to several inches of snow from part of the Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic coast into Wednesday night.
The fast-moving storm that AccuWeather meteorologists have been keeping tabs on for several days first dropped light snow on the order of a coating to an inch or two on parts of eastern Kansas, western Missouri and northwestern Arkansas Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
This radar image, captured Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 27, 2021, shows snow (blue) over portions of easter Missouri, Illinois, southern Indiana, western Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee. Patches of rain (green) were visible just to the south and farther to the southeast. (AccuWeather)
"The storm is on a path to produce a swath of accumulating snow from eastern Missouri and central and southern Illinois to central Kentucky, southern Indiana and part of middle Tennessee into Wednesday evening," AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo said.
The storm blanketed the St. Louis metro area with snow during Wednesday morning and midday. Before the snow ended late on Wednesday afternoon, 2.3 inches had blanketed the city.
Snowfall will range from a coating to 3 inches with a general 3-6 inches forecast for the southern Appalachians, including the higher elevations of southwestern Virginia, far northeastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches is predicted over the ridges and peaks.
Raleigh, North Carolina, had picked up an inch of snow as of early Thursday morning. This was the first time this season that more than a trace of snow was recorded.
The storm is forecast to slide far enough south of Washington, D.C., so wintry weather will bypass the nation's capital. Snow is also likely to stay north of Atlanta during Wednesday night. However, it is possible that some of the northern and western suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina, receive anything from a few snowflakes to a light coating of snow on elevated and grassy surfaces late Wednesday night.
A bit of snow even fell in part of southern Ohio. Cincinnati received 1.9 inches on Wednesday evening.
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And dangers won't stop when wintry precipitation ends. AccuWeather meteorologists warn that temperatures will drop with this storm.
"Since a large part of the storm from east of the Mississippi River to the Carolina and Virginia coast is forecast to occur during the nighttime hours when both the air and pavement will cool, roads that were wet during the daylight hours can quickly trend slushy, snow-covered and even icy in some cases," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.
Even a light coating of snow can be a challenge for motorists in the Southern states who have limited experience driving in winter conditions. However, in this setup, even experienced motorists can face some difficulty driving on roads where conditions will change as temperatures dip.
Motorists are urged to stay off the roads during the evening and overnight and early morning hours, when slippery conditions are most likely. This should allow crews to work as efficiently as possible.
The storm will make for slippery travel, but the wintry conditions will be brief outside of the Appalachians, and people should be able to resume normal daily activities on Thursday.
Even though some roads may still be slippery to start Thursday with the potential for school delays, some sunshine should allow temperatures to rise enough with that road conditions expected to improve during the midday and afternoon hours.
The storm will head out to sea first thing Thursday morning, where it is forecast to strengthen offshore. The system is not expected to intensify fast enough to cause snow to linger along the North Carolina coast nor to allow snowfall to expand northward to areas like the Delmarva Peninsula.
The offshore storm will usher in a blast of Arctic air into the Northeast states from Thursday night into this weekend. Some of this colder air will also filter into the Ohio Valley and Piedmont areas of the South.
The cold air could play a role in the amount and duration of wintry precipitation from a large and complex storm forecast to roll eastward later this weekend into early next week. Another big snowstorm may be in the cards for parts of the Midwest and Northeast.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
Winter storm begins blitzing across the southern US
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Updated Jan 28, 2021 3:18 PM EDT
Winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings were issued across parts of the southern United States as a winter storm with snowfall was on the move Wednesday. The system put down a blanket of up to several inches of snow from part of the Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic coast into Wednesday night.
The fast-moving storm that AccuWeather meteorologists have been keeping tabs on for several days first dropped light snow on the order of a coating to an inch or two on parts of eastern Kansas, western Missouri and northwestern Arkansas Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
This radar image, captured Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 27, 2021, shows snow (blue) over portions of easter Missouri, Illinois, southern Indiana, western Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee. Patches of rain (green) were visible just to the south and farther to the southeast. (AccuWeather)
"The storm is on a path to produce a swath of accumulating snow from eastern Missouri and central and southern Illinois to central Kentucky, southern Indiana and part of middle Tennessee into Wednesday evening," AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo said.
The storm blanketed the St. Louis metro area with snow during Wednesday morning and midday. Before the snow ended late on Wednesday afternoon, 2.3 inches had blanketed the city.
Snowfall will range from a coating to 3 inches with a general 3-6 inches forecast for the southern Appalachians, including the higher elevations of southwestern Virginia, far northeastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches is predicted over the ridges and peaks.
Raleigh, North Carolina, had picked up an inch of snow as of early Thursday morning. This was the first time this season that more than a trace of snow was recorded.
The storm is forecast to slide far enough south of Washington, D.C., so wintry weather will bypass the nation's capital. Snow is also likely to stay north of Atlanta during Wednesday night. However, it is possible that some of the northern and western suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina, receive anything from a few snowflakes to a light coating of snow on elevated and grassy surfaces late Wednesday night.
A bit of snow even fell in part of southern Ohio. Cincinnati received 1.9 inches on Wednesday evening.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
And dangers won't stop when wintry precipitation ends. AccuWeather meteorologists warn that temperatures will drop with this storm.
"Since a large part of the storm from east of the Mississippi River to the Carolina and Virginia coast is forecast to occur during the nighttime hours when both the air and pavement will cool, roads that were wet during the daylight hours can quickly trend slushy, snow-covered and even icy in some cases," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.
Even a light coating of snow can be a challenge for motorists in the Southern states who have limited experience driving in winter conditions. However, in this setup, even experienced motorists can face some difficulty driving on roads where conditions will change as temperatures dip.
Motorists are urged to stay off the roads during the evening and overnight and early morning hours, when slippery conditions are most likely. This should allow crews to work as efficiently as possible.
The storm will make for slippery travel, but the wintry conditions will be brief outside of the Appalachians, and people should be able to resume normal daily activities on Thursday.
Even though some roads may still be slippery to start Thursday with the potential for school delays, some sunshine should allow temperatures to rise enough with that road conditions expected to improve during the midday and afternoon hours.
The storm will head out to sea first thing Thursday morning, where it is forecast to strengthen offshore. The system is not expected to intensify fast enough to cause snow to linger along the North Carolina coast nor to allow snowfall to expand northward to areas like the Delmarva Peninsula.
The offshore storm will usher in a blast of Arctic air into the Northeast states from Thursday night into this weekend. Some of this colder air will also filter into the Ohio Valley and Piedmont areas of the South.
The cold air could play a role in the amount and duration of wintry precipitation from a large and complex storm forecast to roll eastward later this weekend into early next week. Another big snowstorm may be in the cards for parts of the Midwest and Northeast.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo