A powerful winter storm coming out of the upper midwest will be diving into the lower Mississippi Valley region by Friday night, then meandering Saturday across the Southeast before heading north Sunday and Monday along the Eastern Seaboard.
The upper and the middle Mississippi Valley could get heavy snow Friday, with potentially freezing rain set to fall over parts of the Carolinas and the southern Appalachians this weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
The sprawling weather system prompted winter storm warnings and watches from North Dakota down to northern Mississippi and across to Raleigh, N.C., and areas of western New York.
Georgia’s Transportation Department is “preparing and coordinating brine operations, equipment, materials, and staffing plans to respond to the pending threat by treating hundreds of interstate and state route(s),” it said in a statement.
South Carolina’s Transportation Department “has initiated its winter storm operations plan to counter a ‘worst-case scenario’ of winter weather conditions,” according to a statement Wednesday.
In North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper signed a state of emergency Thursday to activate state resources ahead of the storm and allow for federal reimbursement, if conditions allow, according to a news release.
And in Virginia, outgoing Governor Ralph Northam in a statement declared a final state of emergency that allows emergency responders to prepare, and to move supplies and equipment where they expect to need them the most,
Parts of Virginia are still dealing with last week’s winter storm that left motorists stranded on Interstate 95, including restoring power and removing debris.
“This upcoming weather system is likely to include additional downed trees, more electrical outages, and significant impacts on travel conditions,” Northam’s office said.
A state of preparedness has been declared for all 55 counties in West Virginia due to the winter storm, according to a statement Friday from Governor Jim Justice’s office.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont directed his state to “severe cold weather protocol” starting at noon ET Friday through Wednesday — his second such action this year.
“It’s looking like we are going to see another blast of arctic temperatures moving into the state, followed by the potential for a winter storm,” Lamont said Friday in a news release. “These conditions can be extremely dangerous if someone is outdoors for extended periods of time, which is why we are urging anyone in need to seek shelter.”
In the Northeast, the storm is expected to bring one to three inches of snow to Washington, Philadelphia, New York,v and Boston from midday Sunday to Monday morning, Jonathan Porter, the chief meteorologist for AccuWeather, which is based in State College, Pa., said on Friday.
