Winter Storm to Ice up Oklahoma to Carolinas

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

February 15,2015; 7:05PM,EST

 

 

As frigid air holds in the East, a new storm will spread an area of snow, ice and travel disruptions across the interior South early this week.
Much of the South has avoided wintry travel thus far this winter. However, as a storm develops and tracks eastward, a swath of snow and ice will grow on its cold northern flank with rain and thunder close to the Gulf Coast through Monday.
The storm will bring slippery roads, disruptions to daily activities and perhaps airline delays and cancellations.
Snow will spread and intensify along the I-70 corridor from Denver to St. Louis, and down to Wichita, Kansas, and Springfield, Missouri, through Sunday night. At the same time, an area of ice or a wintry mix will expand eastward from central Oklahoma to Tennessee and neighboring parts of Mississippi, Alabama and northwestern Georgia.

Travel along the interstates 40 and 70 corridors could become slippery and dangerous through Sunday night. Cities likely to be impact by either freezing rain, sleet or an icy mix include Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; Little Rock and Fort Smith, Arkansas; Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; and Huntsville, Alabama.
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While the snow expands eastward Monday and Monday night from Missouri to the mid-Atlantic, the ice will follow suit and spread to the Carolinas.
Cities from Memphis and Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Tupelo, Mississippi; Birmingham and Huntsville, Alabama; Atlanta; Greenville and Columbia, South Carolina, and Charlotte, Raleigh and Fayetteville, North Carolina, could be on the receiving end of some sleet and freezing rain.

Within the icy zone of the storm, sleet or a mixture of snow and sleet will generally dominate along the northern fringe with freezing rain in the south.
The battleground between snow totals in excess of six inches and the snow/sleet mix will be near the borders of Missouri and Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as across southern Virginia.
"Fort Smith [Arkansas], Little Rock and Memphis will see the highest icing," stated AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions Storm Warning Meteorologist Sarah Glenn.
"I'm especially concerned for power outages and tree damage [in the above zone," continued Glenn. "Due to the recent warmth which led to a high of 66 F in Memphis on Saturday, roads will initially be wet."
However, motorists should watch for untreated roads and sidewalks to turn slick and dangerous as temperatures fall below freezing. Bridges and overpasses would be the first to ice up.
Atlanta should narrowly escape an icing event due to the rain arriving after temperatures rise above freezing. If the rain arrives quicker than currently anticipated, icy spots may develop.

Rain and even a few thunderstorms will otherwise move along the Gulf Coast. The rain should depart New Orleans before Mardi Gras festivities commence on Tuesday.
Aside from showers and thunderstorms moving through Florida, the winter storm will depart the Southeast on Tuesday as it returns snow to already snow-weary New England.
Another shot of cold air will follow the storm into the South for the second half of this week.
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