Winter Storm of ‘Historic Proportions’ To Slam Southeast

A map showing precipitation potential through Wednesday evening for the eastern half of the U.S. Up to an inch of that could fall as freezing rain and 9 inches as snow for locations in the Southeast.
Credit: WeatherBell Analytics

Snow and rain are already spreading across the southeastern U.S. as a powerful storm ramps up across the region. Snow and rain are only the tip of the weather iceberg with freezing rain and ice expected to cause significant damage from Georgia through the Carolinas before the storm slides up the East Coast, bringing the potential for heavy snow around Washington D.C. and points north.

Residents in the Southeast are more accustomed to rain and highs in the 50s in the winter, but this winter has brought much colder temperatures to the region.

An early January cold spell brought temperatures to as low as 6°F in Atlanta. January average tempeatures were 3-8°F below average for much of the region. Later in the month 2 inches of snow fell across Georgia and Alabama, which caused paralyzing gridlock to Atlanta and more than 1,000 car accidents across the region.

After a short respite, the next bout of winter weather is stretching its fingers across the region.

"We have the first wave going through right now. They have some pretty good snow totals between Raleigh and Willimington (North Carolina). There were some totals in the 5-inch range. However, the next system is the one everyone is bracing for," William Schmitz, a service climatologist for theSoutheast Regional Climate Center, said.

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/storm-of-historic-proportions-to-slam-southeast-head-north-17056