Winter storm dumps snow, ice across the South
Winter weather is causing disruptions in the South, and Winter Weather Alerts stretch from Texas to the Northeast. Travel is expected to be slow as snow and ice coast roads across the region.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The combination of cold air from an arctic front and developing moisture from the country’s southern jet stream resulted in a significant winter weather event from Texas through the Appalachian Mountains to end the weekend and start the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday week.
The FOX Forecast Center warned that the combination of ice and snow could impact communities that aren’t used to seeing significant winter weather events that can lead to treacherous travel.
The winter storm turned deadly in Arkansas on Sunday after a vehicle slid off a highway and collided with a tree as snow was falling. According to the Arkansas Department of Public Safety, the 59-year-old male driver was killed and a 47-year-old female passenger was injured during the crash in White County, some 50 miles northeast of Little Rock.
Another death was reported to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) on Sunday night. According to MEMA, one person was killed in a weather-related crash on Highway 49 just south of Silver City. A state of emergency has been declared in Mississippi because of the weather, according to Gov. Tate Reeves.
Dallas, Little Rock in Arkansas and Memphis and Nashville in Tennessee were all included in a zone that could see both ice and snow during the storm that began on Sunday afternoon and quickly worked its way eastward.
Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories stretch from Texas and Oklahoma through Virginia in the mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast and southern New England.
Millions of people along the Interstate 95 corridor on the East Coast could finally see an inch of snow after a nearly two-year-long snowless streak, including New York City.
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The FOX Weather future radar across the South. (FOX Weather)
Who will see the most ice?
The largest threat of ice accretion stretches from Austin and the Interstate 35 corridor in Texas through Shreveport and the Interstate 20 corridor in Louisiana.
A wintry mix began falling Sunday afternoon across the South, including Little Rock, Arkansas.
Any ice buildups across the South will mean travel over bridges, overpasses and roadways could be difficult, and cold air temperatures could prolong the event.
Ice accretion was expected to remain light and below the criteria of an Ice Storm Warning. Even with less than a quarter-inch of ice, roadways were expected to be slick, and pockets of power outages were possible with falling tree limbs.
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Where will the heaviest snow fall?
Communities north of Interstate 20 throughout the South prepared for snowfall.
Watch: Frozen precipitation falls in Little Rock, Arkansas
FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell shared video of sleet falling in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Sunday.
Dallas, Little Rock in Arkansas and Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville in Tennessee were all in line to see some accumulating snow early this week.
Little Rock set a daily snowfall record when the city received 2.4 inches of snow on Sunday.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, energy gained moisture as it traveled through the South. This means parts of Arkansas and Tennessee could receive several inches of snowfall, which would likely paralyze travel.
The highest snowfall totals were expected to fall across portions of eastern Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as portions of Virginia and West Virginia, where between 5 and 8 inches of snow could fall by the time the storm moves out of the region.
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Memphis’ last significant snowfall was in February 2021, when more than 3 inches fell. If snowfall accumulations are on the higher end of expectations, the event could reach levels last seen in 1985, when more than 6 inches fell in the Home of the Blues.
The National Weather Service office in Little Rock was gearing up to measure snow on Sunday when the wintry weather was set to move in.
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The possibility of record-low temperatures on both Monday and Tuesday will ensure that frozen precipitation will remain on the ground into midweek.
Impacts after the South
Computer forecast models show the moisture exiting the Eastern Seaboard on Monday, but its trajectory off the mid-Atlantic could mean the difference between a few snowflakes in the Northeast or several inches of snow.
A low-pressure center that passes on or near the coastline of the Northeast could allow for several inches of snowfall in major cities such as Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.
These communities make up what is known as the Interstate 95 corridor – the most populated region in the country.
If the storm system’s center is several hundred miles off the coast, as some forecast models show, only limited moisture would be available for the I-95 corridor, which would result in a light dusting.
Many large cities from New York City southward are in the midst of historic snowfall deficits, with the last major event happening nearly two years ago.
