Potential ice threat, first snow of season looms for mid-Atlantic, Carolinas amid active La Niña winter

First flakes to create icy commute for the mid-Atlantic and Carolinas

Parts of Virginia could see their first snow of the season on Friday, but the cold air is also bringing the threat of ice to several major interstates in the mid-Atlantic and Carolinas.

The coldest arctic air of the season is expected to become trapped east of the Appalachians over the mid-Atlantic and the Carolinas beginning Thursday evening, creating the potential for an ice threat for drivers as a storm system moves out of the Southeast and along the East Coast.

MUST-WATCH: TRUCK DRIVER RESCUED DANGLING OFF WEST VIRGINIA HIGHWAY 100-FEET ABOVE THE GROUND BELOW

Millions of drivers along the Interstate 95 corridor in Virginia and North Carolina will have to contend with a glaze of ice that is currently expected to fall by midday Friday, potentially creating a drastically different evening commute home, as compared to conditions in the morning.

DASHCAM: FIRST RESPONDERS LEAP OUT OF RECKLESS DRIVER'S WAY DURING NORTH DAKOTA BLIZZARD

---

 

Western Virginia and the mountains of western North Carolina, which are still recovering from the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene in 2024, could also likely see ice accumulations Friday.

TRAVEL SNARLED AS FIRST NOR'EASTER OF LA NIÑA WINTER SEASON SLAMS EAST COAST WITH RAIN, ICE AND SNOW

Meanwhile, according to the FOX Forecast Center, confidence continues to grow that other parts of Virginia, as well as northern North Carolina, Maryland and Delaware, will see their first snow of the season.

The heaviest snow is expected in southern Virginia, including Richmond and Roanoke. Snowfall totals could reach 4 inches in Roanoke and Blacksburg; Winter Weather Advisories have been issued for southern Virginia and northern North Carolina.

WHAT IS A WINTER STORM WARNING?

A larger area from Virginia to Massachusetts could see a coating to an inch of snow Friday into Saturday. This includes the Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston metro areas.

---

 

A lobe of artic air has been making its way east across the Midwest this week and will reach the Northeast by Thursday, ushering in the coldest temperatures of early meteorological winter thus far for some locales.

ARCTIC BLAST USHERS IN FREEZING, POTENTIALLY RECORD COLD FOR 235 MILLION AMERICANS TO KICK OFF LA NIÑA WINTER

Simultaneously, an area of high pressure will develop in the Northeast on Thursday. The clockwise spin of this airmass will funnel the cold air south, just east of the Appalachians. 

Temperatures for places like Richmond, Virginia and Raleigh, North Carolina could drop to the low 30s or upper 20s on Thursday night.

---

 

Meanwhile, a storm system that's delivering heavy rain across the southeastern U.S. is expected to ride up the East Coast and meet the frigid air Friday, setting the stage for the potential snow and ice storm. 

WHAT IS AIR PRESSURE?

That cold air will become trapped at the surface, locked in between the mountains and warm air from the storm system that will rise above it, in a phenomenon known as cold-air damming.  

---

 

Those who will be traveling along Interstates 95, 91, 40, 85 and 77 on Friday and into the weekend should monitor the latest weather forecasts.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

Part of Interstate 71 was closed in Cincinnati was closed due to a crash Tuesday morning, Dec. 2, 2025, amid snowy weather.

(OHGO / FOX Weather)

This latest forecast comes after a salvo of winter storms that have battered most of the country in the first week of December.

NOAA: LA NIÑA EXPECTED FOR BEGINNING OF WINTER, NEUTRAL CONDITIONS LIKELY IN 2026

This lines up with the long-range outlook from NOAA last month that forecast an active start to meteorological winter, due in part to the La Niña climate pattern.