Historic winter storm spanning 40 states underway as 235 million brace for weekend winter weather
Stretching from the Southwest into the Northeast and New England, the storm will pump a vicious blend of harsh winter weather impacts that could debilitate major transportation hubs in the U.S. and cause widespread power outages.
Historic major winter storm taking shape, threatening crippling ice and heavy snow as winter weather footprint extends beyond 2,300-miles
FOX Weather Meteorologist Ari Sarsalari analyzes a historic major winter storm with a 2,300-mile-long winter weather footprint that will bring winter weather to more than 245 million Americans across 40 states. Ice storms, heavy snow and frigid temperatures loom in the coming days for millions of Americans as the major storm takes shape.
The highly anticipated 2,300-mile-long historic winter storm is underway, forecast to bring winter weather to more than 235 million Americans across 40 states through the weekend and into next week.
The storm is expected to deliver heavy snow and crippling ice that has officials across the country bracing for the impacts.
From Arizona to Maine, the colossal winter storm will continue to move across the Southern Tier of the U.S., delivering an immense bundle of snow and ice.
LIVE UPDATES: MILLIONS UNDER ALERT AS HISTORIC WINTER STORM CHARGES ACROSS AMERICA
Stretching from the Southwest into the Northeast and New England, the storm will pump a vicious blend of harsh winter weather impacts that could debilitate major transportation hubs in the U.S. and cause widespread power outages.
In preparation for the historic storm, states of emergency have already been declared in 14 states, including Arkansas, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Kentucky, New York, New Jersey, Kansas and West Virginia, along with Washington, D.C. Additional states could also announce states of emergency in the coming days.
President Donald Trump said on social media that the Trump administration is coordinating with both state and local officials ahead of the winter storm and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is fully prepared to respond.
As of 7 p.m. EST Friday, over 10,000 flights have already been disrupted across the U.S. through Sunday, with thousands more expected to be canceled into early next week as the storm takes hold this weekend.
The storm made history before any sparks flew on Friday. In a statistic that speaks to the expansiveness of this storm, this storm has broken the record for the most number of counties simultaneously under a Winter Storm Warning.
Formation of the storm
The historic winter storm took shape midday Friday in the Plains, arriving before expected, and started dumping snow, ice and rain across the Plains as the first stop on the journey across the Southern Tier.
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Grocery shoppers in Philadelphia formed long lines out the door as the region braces for a major winter storm. The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for the area starting Saturday night.
In the Southern Plains, snow has already started to develop across portions of Kansas, Oklahoma and northern Texas as the arctic air continues to move in, and will continue into Saturday.
Models continue to put the heaviest snow from just north of Oklahoma City into portions of central Kansas where over a foot of snow is possible. Elsewhere, a wide swath of 5 to 8 inches of snow looks likely to occur, especially in areas from Amarillo north into Kansas City.
Widespread icing from Midland, Texas, to Dallas and Little Rock is likely throughout most of Saturday, sufficient to cause numerous power outages and severely disrupt travel along major interstates such as I-20 and I-35 into Sunday.
Into the Southeast
The high-impact storm is beginning its trek towards the Southeast and will kick off the weekend with crippling ice and snow for millions. From Mississippi into parts of the Carolinas, power outages will become increasingly likely as Ice Storm Warnings are scattered across the region.
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The heaviest accumulations are expected to focus on Arkansas, northern Mississippi, and western Tennessee, a corridor that includes Little Rock, Arkansas, Oxford, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee, where up to 0.75 inch of ice is forecast, and over an inch of ice in some localized areas is possible.
Within the affected regions, ice accumulation is expected to cause crippling impacts on both power infrastructure and travel. Widespread power outages are likely as the weight of the ice compromises lines and topples trees.
This graphic shows what different amounts of ice accretion can do. (FOX Weather / FOX Weather)
The highest snow totals in the Southeast will be confined to areas along and north of I-40, mainly across Kentucky, which is expected to see significant snow statewide, with totals of 5 to 8 inches. An impressive swath amounting to up to a foot of snow, stretching from border to border, is possible.
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Nashville remains on the edge of the transition zone and could see all snow, a wintry mix or rain.
The higher elevations of middle Tennessee, into east Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains will still see snow totals on the higher end with 3 to 5 inches possible.
One of the nation's busiest airports braces for winter storm
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, one of the largest airport hubs in the country, is preparing for potentially catastrophic impacts of a major winter storm over the next several days. Ricky Smith, the general manager of the airport, joins FOX Weather to discuss what the airport is doing in anticipation of major delays and cancellations.
Major city snow
It has been a decade since a foot or more of snow fell in cities like Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia, and five years since New York City saw more than a foot. They're streaks that could be coming to an end as this historic storm has its sights on bringing major snow across the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and the I-95 corridor starting Saturday as the storm moves in from the west.
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As the sun rises Sunday morning, snow will be falling from northern Virginia into the New York tri-state area, and it will continue to dump snow and strengthen through the day Sunday, with peak snow rates potentially reaching 2 to 3 inches per hour.
The best chance of the heaviest accumulations are north and west of D.C. along I-81 through Pennsylvania, across I-80 into the tri-State area including New York City, northward into the Hudson Valley, spreading east across southern New England into Boston, where 18 to 24 inches of snow is possible.
As heavy snow chances of over a foot have decreased in Roanoke, Richmond, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, current forecasts favor New York City, where 8 to 12 inches of snow is possible.
Another region that could see the "jackpot" in terms of snow totals will be coastal Massachusetts, banking on ocean enhancement of snow bands.
Heavy snow looks likely to set up from the North Shore of Massachusetts and extend down into the northern Cape. A widespread 12 to 18 inches of snow is likely with locally higher amounts possibly closer to two feet.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hurricane Hunters fly into historic major winter storm
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hurricane Hunters flew into the historic winter storm to gather essential statistics and data that weather forecasters use to predict the track of the storm that will bring winter weather impacts to more than 245 million Americans this weeked.
Preparations underway
Ahead of the storm, Americans across the country have prepared for the major storms by raiding local supermarkets as heavy snow and ice accretion make for dangerous travel conditions. Shelves were empty in grocery stores from Texas to New York.
Energy companies have already begun mobilizing additional crews to prepare for ice accretion, known to be capable of taking down power lines and creating impossible driving conditions.
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Texas DOT prepares for major winter storm
PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY: Ahead of the potentially historic winter storm, Tennessee Department of Transportation crews are making sure their equipment is ready for anything. TDOT will be pretreating the roads throughout the day Thursday. Stay with FOX Weather for the latest:
Frigid temperatures lock in winter weather impact
While current forecasts suggest that the storm will wind down Monday from west to east as the area of low pressure pulls away from the coast, the cold weather will stick around for millions of Americans, prolonging impacts for areas affected by ice and snow.
A powerful arctic high is driving exceptionally dense, bitterly cold air deep into the Lower 48. This arctic air mass will then dominate the entire weather pattern through the weekend and will play a key role in the development of the historic winter storm across the South and the East Coast.
Extreme Cold Warnings and watches now extend across much of the Upper Midwest, Plains and into the Northeast.
Major cities included in these alerts range from Minneapolis and Detroit to Boston and New York City. Farther south, locations such as Oklahoma City, Dallas and Little Rock are also under Cold Weather Alerts through the weekend.
Along the East Coast, temperatures will struggle to rise above freezing through the weekend. Cities such as New York City may see highs only in the teens by Sunday, with wind chills making it feel closer to the single digits as more than 260 million Americans will experience below-average temperatures, and over 50 million could see readings drop below zero.
Parlayed with the threat of power outages, frigid temperatures are yet another factor in the multi-threat storm that people should be aware of as the storm unfolds in the coming days.