The most extreme and widespread major winter storm in years has begun to develop across the Plains and will impact much of the United States.
Over the next few days, the storm will dump up to a foot of snow and devastating amounts of ice across a 3,000-mile region from Texas to New England.
Here’s a look at what to expect in some major cities in the storm’s path. All times are Eastern.
This storm will bring mainly ice to Dallas, but all kinds of precipitation is expected over the next 48 hours, including rain, ice and sleet.
Scattered rain on Friday will turn to freezing rain and ice around midnight and continue intermittently into Sunday morning. An inch or two of snow could fall on top of the ice by Sunday morning.
• Rainy weather: Friday 9 a.m. to Saturday 12 a.m.
• Freezing Rain: 12 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday.
• Snow: 6 a.m. Sunday to 12 a.m. Sunday.
• Freezing Rain: 3 a.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday.
• Snow: Sunday 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.
• Ice: 0.25 – 0.50 inch
• Snowfall: 1 to 3 inches.
Cities like Memphis, which sit between the storm’s vast expanses of snow and ice, are likely to move back and forth between snow and ice as temperatures change both at the ground level and in the upper atmosphere.
Snow will start early Saturday morning and could turn to sleet and freezing rain Saturday afternoon. Freezing rain will continue on and off until Sunday afternoon, but snow will quickly return as colder air moves in.
• Snow: 4 a.m. Saturday to 2 p.m. Saturday. Sunday 12:00pm – 3:00pm
• Freezing Rain: Saturday 4pm – Sunday 12pm
• Freezing Rain: Saturday 4pm to Sunday 8am.
• Snow: Saturday from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Ice: 0.25 – 0.75 inches
• Snow and sleet: 2 to 4 inches.
Atlanta is also on the border of precipitation types, but instead of ice and snow, it’s between rain and freezing rain. Some rain on Saturday could turn to cold rain Saturday night into Sunday morning.
Warm air should return to rain by Sunday afternoon before the cold air really moves in Monday morning.
• Rainy weather: Saturday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday 10am to Sunday 10pm
• Freezing Rain: Saturday 10pm – Sunday 10am
• Freezing Rain: Saturday 10pm – Sunday 10am
• Ice: 0.1 – 0.3 inches
If you love snow, Louisville will be one of the big winners in this storm. The city is located just north of the freezing rain line, so this storm will keep us covered in snow. This could be the heaviest snowfall in Louisville in decades, even challenging the record snowfall of 17.9 inches set in February 1998.
• Snow: Saturday 1pm to Sunday 8pm.
• Snow: Saturday 4pm – Sunday 4pm
• Snowfall: 10 to 16 inches.
Ice damage is a major concern in Charlotte. Ice totals of 0.75 to 1.25 inches could spread across large areas along the I-85 corridor in the Carolinas, more than enough to knock down trees and cause widespread power outages.
• Sleet and cold rain: Saturday 10pm to Monday 12am
• Freezing Rain: Sunday 4 a.m. to Sunday 8 p.m.
• Ice: 0.50 – 1.00 inches
Washington, D.C., is expected to see its heaviest snowfall in more than five years this weekend, but the storm will bring more than just snow. Cold rain on top of the snow is possible, causing large and dangerous disruptions.
Snow should start falling after dark Saturday and increase quickly, reaching near double digits by Sunday morning. Expect to change to freezing rain early Sunday afternoon.
• Snow: Saturday 8pm – Sunday 1pm
• Freezing Rain: Sunday 12pm – Monday 12am
• Snow: Sunday 2 a.m. to Sunday 2 p.m.
• Freezing Rain: Sunday 4pm – Monday 12am
• Ice: up to 0.25 inches
• Snowfall: 8 to 12 inches.
Most of Philadelphia will see snow, with the most snow expected in a decade. However, like many other places near the snow/ice line, such as Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, there is a chance of a brief transition from snow to freezing rain toward the end of the event.
As ice builds up, the snow becomes heavier and harder to remove. If more sleet or freezing rain is mixed in early in the storm, snow totals could remain below 10 inches.
• Snow: 12 a.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday.
• Freezing Rain: Sunday 4pm – Monday 12am
• Snow: Sunday 2 a.m. to Sunday 6 p.m.
• Ice: less than 0.10 inches.
• Snowfall: 8 – 14 inches
New York City is expected to see almost no snow during this event, and snow totals could be the highest the city has seen in five years.
Snow will start falling after midday Sunday and continue until midday Monday. Sleet may mix into the night Sunday night. If more sleet mixes in, the total could drop a bit.
• Snow: Sunday 1 a.m. – Monday 1 p.m.
• Snow: Sunday 8 a.m. – Sunday 11 p.m.
• Snowfall: 10 to 14 inches.
