Aiexpress – Snow and ice storms are expected over the Deep South later this week. The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center predicts 30 to 50 percent likelihood of at least 2 to 3 inches of snow, followed by what could be a prolonged period of freezing rain and ice accumulation. The risk area encompasses Northern Mississippi, Northern Alabama, Northern Georgia, nearly all of Tennessee, Western South Carolina, and Western North Carolina. A storm building in the Gulf of Mexico will track east, hugging the Gulf Coast from Texas to the Florida Panhandle.
A frigid dome of high pressure is expected to settle over the Mid-Atlantic states and push southwest into the Appalachians. This is a precursor to a long-duration freezing rain event that will be extremely difficult for most of northern Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
Model guidance predicts several inches or more of snow across the whole risk area on Friday. The highest amounts of snow will fall in Arkansas, Northern Mississippi, and Tennessee. Model guidance suggests widespread 3 to 6 inches of snow before ending as freezing rain later Friday.
After a few inches of snowfall in North Georgia and Western South Carolina, temperatures climb aloft, turning the snow to sleet and eventually freezing rain. Ice accretion forecasts from multiple models predict a half inch to an inch of ice accretion, particularly in locations near the mountains of North Georgia and both South and North Carolina.
The freezing rain might continue into Friday night or early Saturday morning before the storm system moves to the northeast. It may eventually bring heavy snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain to the Middle Atlantic and Northeast throughout the weekend. We will be closely monitoring this storm in the coming days.
