- The heaviest snow – as much as five centimeters per hour – is expected at night and until Friday morning
- More than 5,000 flights were canceled and thousands of customers were already without power at the beginning of Thursday.
- The storm has already dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of the Midwest
A massive winter storm hit the northeast on Thursday evening after the weather system canceled thousands of flights, cut power in parts of six states and sparked what has been termed a deadly tornado in Alabama.
Saturday morning, a foot or more of snow could fall in a swath from northeastern Maine to parts of western Pennsylvania, according to the National Weather Service. Farther south, a band of ice accumulation is expected to extend more than 1,000 miles from New England to west of Tennessee.
The heaviest snow — as much as five centimeters per hour — is expected overnight and through Friday morning, the Weather Service said.
Forecasters also warned of strong thunderstorms along the warmer side of the storm in Mississippi and Alabama.
In western Alabama, a tornado that hit a rural area Thursday afternoon killed one person, a woman he found under the rubble, and seriously injured three others, Russell Weeden, director of Hale County Emergency Management, told WBRC-TV.
More than 5,000 flights were canceled on Thursday, according to tracker Flightaware.com. More than 250,000 customers in Texas, Arkansas, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee have lost power, according to Poweroutage.us.
The storm has already dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of the Midwest, even bringing rare measurable snowfalls to parts of Texas.
“It’s a slow-moving storm,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dan Pydynowski told USA TODAY. “Such a prolonged storm not only makes travel difficult over a long period of time, but it also causes the ice rain to accumulate to about 1 inch in some areas, which can cause power outages.”
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Texas gets ice, snow; Oklahoma City breaks groundhog day snow record
Up to half an inch of ice and 3 inches of sleet and snow were expected in Dallas, the weather service said. Much of north Texas up to the Oklahoma border could see 1 to 3 inches of snow, forecasts say.
Farther south, Austin could see up to a quarter inch of ice accumulation, and San Antonio could see up to a tenth of an inch.
Gov. Greg Abbott urged Texans to stay off the road, saying the state’s electricity system can handle the freeze. Last year, prolonged winter weather cut electricity for millions of people.
Oklahoma City broke its Groundhog Day snow record on Wednesday with 3 inches of snow, according to Accuweather.
The weather bureau in Norman, Oklahoma, is forecasting another 3 inches of snow for Oklahoma City on Thursday, and surrounding regions could get 4 to 6 inches.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt declared a state of emergency for the winter weather on Tuesday.
Ice raises concern in South; ‘Double Dangers’ in Tennessee
Ice storm warnings were in effect for areas of eastern Arkansas and Missouri, western Kentucky and Tennessee, and northern Mississippi.
“Significant icing is expected” for much of central Kentucky, according to the Louisville forecasting agency. Some areas can grow more than an inch.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, and many schools in the state have canceled classes or announced plans for distance learning.
“If everything is right now, this is the real deal,” Beshear said on Wednesday. “It is dangerous. People need to be prepared, especially to stay off the road tomorrow and possibly be ready to face this emergency in the coming days.”
Ice began to build up Thursday in parts of western Tennessee, including Memphis, causing power outages and dangerous road conditions during the commute. Memphis could see a half to three-quarter inch of ice by the time the storm passes Friday.
In Middle Tennessee, flooding and freezing rain were expected to pose “double hazards,” according to the Nashville Weather Service office.
“In areas where there is more than a quarter inch of ice, concerns about power outages are starting to grow as the weight of the ice pulls down power lines and tree branches,” AccuWeather’s Pydynowski said.
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Heavy Snowfall in Midwest, Northeast
In the Midwest and Northeast, the cities that could see a half to more than a foot of snow included Indianapolis; St Louis; cleveland; Rochester, New York; Burlington, Vermont; and Augusta, Maine.
Wednesday’s storm brought more than 12 inches of snow to areas in Illinois and Missouri. In central Missouri, officials have closed off part of Interstate 70. The Illinois government, JB Pritzker, and the Missouri government, Mike Parson, declared a state of emergency on Tuesday.
In parts of Ohio and central Indiana, 3 to 30 inches of snow could fall, while northern Indiana could see up to 18 inches of snow, weather services predict. The snowfall led to several car accidents in downtown Indiana on Thursday morning.
Pittsburgh was predicted to get 1 to 2 inches, while other areas of northwestern Pennsylvania could see up to 8 inches, according to the weather office there.
In northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, up to 18 inches was forecast, according to weather bureaus.
“It’s not going to be a heavy snowfall with high snowfall,” meteorologist David Thomas said of the storm in western New York. “This is a long-lasting, soft snow that will be more manageable, although the roads will be covered in snow.”
Contributors: Krista Johnson and Ayana Archie, Louisville Courier Journal; Rachel Wegner, The (Nashville) Tennessee; Victoria E. Freile, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle; Sarah Nelson, Indianapolis star; The Associated Press
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