Live: Southern Snowstorm Causes Slippery Travel

By Dan Depodwin, Meteorologist

January 17,2013; 7:01PM,EST

Snow began early Thursday morning across Mississippi and is expected to spread northeastward through Thursday, causing travel headaches from Jackson, Miss., to Greensboro, N.C., to Dover, Del.

This storm continues the trend of wintry weather across the South. The region has seen its share of frozen precipitation from ice to snow this week.
While Mississippi and Alabama will be spared the brunt of this storm, locations in the southern Appalachians can be buried under a foot or more of snow!

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STORM REPORTS:
7:42 p.m. EST Thursday: Nine inches of snow have fallen in Ashe County, N.C. 7.5 inches have fallen in Alleghany County, N.C.
6:50 p.m. EST Thursday: One foot of snow recorded in South Bluefield, W.Va.
4:51 p.m. EST Thursday: Washington County, Tenn. received two inches of snow in two hours.
4:41 p.m. EST Thursday: Six inches of snow on the ground in Mercer County, W.Va. and Scott County, Va.
3:51 p.m. EST Thursday: Snow continues to fall in Athens, W.Va., with 4.5 inches received already.
2:43 p.m. EST Thursday: Three inches of snow have fallen across Buchanan, Va.
2:40 p.m. EST Thursday: Snow is beginning to taper off across western portions of Alabama, including Fayette and Tuscaloosa counties. The snow total at Shelton State Community College is 1 inch and in Berry, Ala., 3 inches have fallen.
2:15 p.m. EST Thursday: Numerous accidents due to snow have been reported on I-75 and US25 south of Williamsburg, Ky.
1:50 p.m. EST Thursday: An inch of snow fell in Clear Creek Springs, Ky., in an hour.
1:45 p.m. EST Thursday: Snow continuing to accumulate on roadways in Jefferson County, Ala. Roads are becoming impassible, with multiple accidents already reported.
1:30 p.m. EST Thursday: An inch of snow was reported in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
1:15 p.m. EST Thursday: Quarter-sized snowflakes falling near Whitesburg, Ky., are starting to accumulate.
1:10 p.m. EST Thursday: From the National Weather Service Forecasting Office in Huntsville, Ala.: "A few cloud-to-ground lightning strikes have been reported/detected in northeastern Franklin Co., Tenn., (near Woods Reservoir)."
1:05 p.m. EST Thursday: Knoxville, Tenn., has had over 7 inches of rain this week. It's getting colder there now-- currently 37ºF.
1:00 p.m. EST Thursday: Law enforcement reported that over 30 automobile wrecks have occurred in the area of Jasper, Ala., since snow began, with a powerline down in the city.
12:55 p.m. EST Thursday: Preliminary Local Storm Report from Jackson, Miss., National Weather Service Forecasting Office: 4 inches of snow in Eupora and Mathiston in Webster County, between three and three and a half inches of snow in Neshoba County, and three and a half inches of snow at Little Rock in Newton County.
12:30 p.m. EST Thursday: "It's changed over to snow now across southwestern Va. It's switching from sleet to snow in Huntsville, Ala.," AccuWeather meteorologist Henry Margusity said. "It may start snowing very hard there soon."
12:15 p.m. EST Thursday: Three and a half inches of snow in Neshoba County, Miss.
11:35 a.m. EST Thursday: A 911 call center four miles northeast of Columbus, Miss., reported that there have been nearly three dozen accidents since 5 a.m., from slushy and slick roads. There were two to three inches of snow on elevated and grassy surfaces.
10:57 a.m. EST Thursday: Snow sticking to roadways in Carrollton, Ala., west of Tuscaloosa. Two inches of snow have been reported and it has only been snowing about an hour.

10:40 a.m. EST Thursday: @BreakingWeather has photos from the storm coming in from Mississippi and Alabama.

10:36 a.m. EST Thursday: In a message from the Lamar County Emergency Management Agency in Alabama:
Due to heavy snowfall over the last couple of hours, road conditions have deteriorated considerably causing multiple traffic accidents. Please, unless you are dealing with an emergency situation, stay off county roadways until later this evening.
10:30 a.m. EST Thursday: Reports of multiple snow-related accidents in Webster County, Miss.

10:15 a.m. EST Thursday: Here are some photos of the storm from the North Mississippi Storm Chasers & Spotters Facebook page.

10:10 a.m. EST Thursday: There was record daily snowfall at Jackson, Miss., Thursday. A total of 1.6 inches of snow fell at the Jackson International Airport. This breaks the previous record for this date of 0.7 inch, which was set in 1948.
9:55 a.m. EST Thursday: Three to four inches of snow reported across Choctaw County, Miss. According to law enforcement, the roads are very slick, with multiple accidents reported.
9:40 a.m. EST Thursday: "Within hours here, we should see snow breaking out from southeast Kentucky to Virginia," AccuWeather meteorologist Henry Margusity said. "This is the biggest snowstorm we've seen down South in a long time."
9:10 a.m. EST Thursday: Rain continues to change to snow in Alabama; 3 inches of snow in Edinburg, Miss.
8:25 a.m. EST Thursday: Reports coming in on Twitter that rain is changing to snow in western Alabama.
7:40 a.m. EST Thursday: Widespread reports of 2 inches of snow in Mississippi with 3 inches reported by a trained spotter at Pearl, Miss.
7:22 a.m. EST Thursday: Police report slushy bridges and overpasses with slick conditions in Lexington, Miss. Emergency management reported the same in Brookhaven, Miss. Joanne Feldman from Fox 5 in Atlanta, Ga., tweeted "Since cold air can circulate UNDERNEATH bridges & overpasses, ice develops there first."
7:00 a.m. EST Thursday: Two inches of snow reported 2 miles north of Jackson, Miss.
6:00 a.m. EST Thursday: A cold front is slicing across the Florida Panhandle with a temperature of 42 in Pensacola and 67 in Tallahassee! Temperatures will fall from these readings in Tallahassee and only climb a few degrees in Pensacola through the day.
4:30 a.m. EST Thursday: Wind is kicking up along the Gulf coast this morning and will continue to whip throughout the day. Currently a raw 40 degrees in New Orleans with a wind chill of 35.
3:45 a.m. EST Thursday: An inch of snow has been reported in both Vicksburg and Jackson, Miss., with several accidents on I-20 near Jackson.
3:30 a.m. EST Thursday: The very chilly temperatures to the west of the storm highlight the potent Canadian air mass in place. Houston, Texas, was 31 degrees at 3 a.m. while Detroit, Mich., was 35! It certainly can get cold down along the Gulf Coast!