Do you see ice or snow?
Freezing drizzle and ice have already begun in many of the warned areas. This includes parts of the Dallas area and extends all the way to Virginia.
Follow the storm
Ice storm warnings are in effect for places like Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; and Lexington, Kentucky, where up to 1/2 inch of ice or more is expected. Half an inch of ice buildup can weigh as much as 500 pounds on power lines and trees. In some areas, the ice conditions have not been so bad in years.
“This could be one of the worst winter weeks in eastern Kentucky in more than a decade,” says the National Weather Service’s office in Jackson, Kentucky.
How to Survive the Winter Weather in Your Car
The NWS also suggests that if you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case you hit the roads. People in these warning areas should also make sure they have plenty of food and warm blankets in case the power goes out for several days.
While this particular setup is perfect for ice formation, it remains somewhat uncertain to determine exactly where most of the accumulation will take place.
“Any small variation in temperature profiles will lead to changes in the type of precipitation, which in turn will lead to changes in ice buildup,” says the NWS in Louisville. This could mean the difference that one city gets crippling amounts of ice and the next city gets all the rain or snow.
“This weather setup is really a textbook ice storm situation,” said CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller.
“You have warm, spring-like temperatures in the 60s and even 70s in the Southeast, while the bitter-cold polar air flows all the way through the central US to meet the warm air at the Mississippi and Ohio River. the warm air rises and the colder air stays on the surface, resulting in precipitation that falls as rain, but freezes on the surface. “
Snow in the middle of the Atlantic
Another round of snow is forecast for the mid-Atlantic through Thursday, and then again on Friday. Places like Washington, DC, and Philadelphia will most likely see about 2 to 3 inches of snow, with greater amounts just outside the city.
Much larger quantities will occur in the interior of Virginia and West Virginia. Parts of West Virginia, Virginia, and Pennsylvania could see 4 to 6 inches, especially at higher elevations.
Baby It’s Cold Outside
The ice can linger all weekend, with another blast of Arctic air dipping south of Canada. Sixty million people will experience sub-zero temperatures for the next week, with 75% of the population below freezing.
It might be the perfect Valentine’s Day snuggle weather, but severe colds like this one will be dangerous, especially those without power. “This means the possibility of power outages with bitterly cold temperatures for several days,” says the NWS in Memphis.
More than 6 million are under wind chill from Montana to Michigan and south to Nebraska. Temperatures will drop as the cold air spills over much of the country, with dozens of record lows possible in the plains and in the south.
Below zero, temperatures will reach as far south as the Texas panhandle until late weekends into early next week, with temperatures as high as 50 degrees below average.