Live updates: Winter storm threatens 175M Americans with potential feet of snow, catastrophic ice
FOX Weather is providing live coverage of a developing winter storm that is forecast to blast 30+ states with dangerous snow and ice through the weekend.
Dangerous snow and ice are expected to blast 30+ states through the weekend.
The FOX Forecast Center is tracking a potentially historic winter storm taking shape later this week. Spanning over 2,000 miles and across more than 30 states, the storm could deliver record-setting snow and dangerous ice from the Southern Plains through the Mid-Atlantic. Forecasters say now is the time to prepare for the storm which is expected to cancel thousands of flights and knock out power in the hardest-hit areas.
Winter Storm Watches are being issued ahead of this week's winter storm.
National Weather Service offices across the Plains and Southeast are getting ahead of this week's winter storm. Winter Storm Watches are now up for 12 states, putting millions on alert for potentially disruptive winter weather that could create hazardous travel conditions. Additional alerts are expected later today.
This trend really has little to no impact on the fact that a widespread and significant winter storm is going to occur... but it does play a big factor in exactly where the rain/ice/snow lines set up.
Meteorologists at the Weather Prediction Center are weighing in on the northern shift in the computer forecast model guidance overnight. Their focus is on the energy that will phase together to spawn this monster winter storm and how that energy is still thousands of miles away. Forecasters say until this energy gets better organized and moves closer to the U.S., the exact details of where the heaviest snow and ice will accumulate won't be settled.
Latest FOX Weather ice forecast for the Southeast U.S.
When you hear "winter storm," most people think of snow. But anyone in the South would tell you it's not all about the flakes. Ice is always a big concern when mild, moist air is predicted to collide with arctic air. Forecasters are warning that this week's storm could put down more than a half inch of ice in the Ark-La-Tex region stretching to the Carolinas. This dangerous ice could pull down power lines, knocking out power to thousands of people. And it could cripple communities by turning roads into an ice rink.
The FOX Forecast Center says this forecast is still subject to change, so keep watching for updates.
FOX Weather snow forecast for a colossal winter storm set to slam the South and East.
A sprawling winter storm is expected to dump snow across 30+ states starting on Friday and lingering into early next week. FOX Weather's latest snow forecast calls for more than a foot of snow falling in spots from Oklahoma to the Mid-Atlantic states. Forecasters say this is an early draft of what to expect this weekend as the numbers will likely go up or down as the finer details of the storm become more clear in the next 48 hours.
Computer forecast models showing forecast differences from Tuesday to Wednesday. Source: WeatherBELL
Forecasters are waking up and quickly assessing how computer forecast models changed overnight in their handling of this week's winter storm. As the FOX Forecast Center cautioned yesterday, this forecast is nowhere near being locked in, meaning there are some finer details that have yet to be resolved and that could have implications on the forecast itself.
The latest computer forecast guidance shifted overnight, showing the storm tracking farther north than previously modeled. This doesn't mean the South will be spared, but it could mean the far-reaching impacts are felt in areas farther north than originally expected.
FOX Weather meteorologists are analyzing this new data now to determine how this shift would impact Americans from the Plains to the Northeast. Keep watching for updates.
You can go back and see how the forecast for this winter storm has evolved with our live coverage from Tuesday.
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