Winter storm threatens millions in South with snow, ice: Track weather
While Southern California continues to grapple with several devastating wildfires, a massive winter storm is bringing heavy snow and ice to millions of people across the U.S. South on Friday.
The storm will continue on Saturday, forecasters said. Six to 10 inches of snow is expected from eastern Oklahoma through the Mid-South and the southern Appalachians.
Snow will turn into sleet and freezing rain along parts of the Southeast, as well as southern Arkansas, the weather service reported. Forecasters warn that icy conditions, between a tenth and a quarter inch of ice, will make travel dangerous for many. Power outages and downed branches are also a concern.
At least 41 million people were under a winter storm warning as the storm moved along the Gulf Coast Friday, according to the National Weather Service. The storm should weaken by Saturday, bringing lighter snow between 1 and 3 inches to parts of the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic and the Ohio Valley before exiting off the Carolinas.
The weather service in Atlanta warned that freezing rain could cause damage along and north of the I-20 corridor through Friday.
This comes after a colossal storm produced severe winter weather to much of the country, including a region spanning from northeastern Kansas to north-central Missouri which saw snowfall around 15 inches.
National snowfall tracker
The map below shows the probability that an area could receive more than 4 inches of snow. Use the slider at the top left to toggle by day.
Thousands of flights canceled
More than 2,600 U.S. flights have been canceled and over 2,400 others have been delayed as of noon ET, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. That includes more than half the flights in and out of Nashville, more than 40% of Charlotte flights and 40% of Atlanta flights. And even though the storm has moved out of Dallas, more than 20% of flights into Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field remained canceled Friday afternoon.
Travelers scheduled to make connections through these cities were also impacted. Aside from being Delta's home, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the busiest airport in the world, and both DFW and Charlotte Douglas International Airport are hubs for American Airlines.
Atlanta, Georgia, weather forecast
Forecast snowfall totals for the Atlanta area have come down due to higher confidence in a transition to a wintry mix or freezing rain during the day Friday, according to the weather service.
Far north Georgia was still looking like it would receive the most snow, with 2-3 inches forecast and higher amounts locally of up to 4-5 inches, according to the weather service.
Nashville, Tennessee, weather forecast
Snow moved into Middle Tennessee Friday morning, with the heaviest falling during the late morning and afternoon hours, according to the weather service.
Nashville and the surrounding areas are expected to see 4 to 6 inches of snow, with areas just west of Nashville, such as Waverly, possibly seeing 6 to 8 inches, the weather service said.
Middle Tennessee is expected to see travel impacts Friday, especially during the evening rush hour, and into Saturday, the weather service said Friday morning. Cold temperatures could allow for travel impacts to continue into Sunday as well.
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Charlotte, North Carolina, weather forecast
A mix of winter weather is heading into the Charlotte area Friday, with snow, sleet and ice all expected through Friday evening, the weather service said.
Snow and sleet accumulations will be the highest across the southern and northern North Carolina mountains, with the lowest amounts expected south of I-85, according to the weather service.
While Charlotte is only expected to see 1 to 2 inches of snow, parts of northwestern and northern North Carolina could see 3 to 6 inches.
Birmingham, Alabama, weather forecast
Widespread precipitation is expected across Central Alabama through noon Friday, the weather service said, with a wintry mix expected in the northern part of Central Alabama, changing over to rain by afternoon except in the higher elevations in the northeast counties.
By the afternoon, wintry precipitation should change over to rain in most areas, the weather service said.
Winter weather impacts are likely through Friday evening, including "dangerous or impossible" driving conditions across the northern half of Central Alabama, with hazardous driving conditions extending further south, according to the weather service.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, weather forecast
Eastern Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas are expected to see 3 to 12 inches of snow, with the Tulsa area facing 3 to 8 inches, according to the weather service.
Little Rock, Arkansas, weather forecast
Areas of northern, western and central Arkansas had seen up to a foot of snow as of noon CST Friday, according to the weather service.
The weather service said Thursday afternoon that a "large portion" of the state would have impactful snowfall, with some areas seeing as much as 12 inches when it was all said and done.
Fort Worth, Texas, weather forecast
Although precipitation has abated in North Texas, road conditions could be bad on Saturday, forecasters said.
"Any water on the roads will refreeze tonight into Saturday morning with hazardous conditions again for North Texas," the weather service said Friday morning.
National weather map
National weather radar
(This story has been updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy and to add new information.)
Contributing: Eve Chen and Doyle Rice
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at Paste BN. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.