Timeline: When the potentially historic winter storm is expected to sweep across the US this weekend
Here is a timeline of when and where the potentially historic winter storm will arrive, and what current forecasts predict it will deliver.
Historic winter storm could impact over 235 million Americans
A dangerous winter storm is on the way for the U.S. and is expected to impact over 40 states, spanning more than 2,000 miles. National Weather Service Director Ken Graham joins FOX Weather to discuss this historic winter storm and how it will affect residents.
A potentially historic major winter storm stretching more than 2,000 miles across the U.S. is expected to deliver harsh winter weather that will impact more than 235 million Americans across 40 states starting Friday through Monday.
The FOX Forecast Center will be monitoring the winter storm that is expected to dump a combination of snow and freezing rain.
The monster winter storm has states from Arizona to Maine on watch, as Winter Storm Alerts have been issued from Albuquerque to Boston.
Here is a timeline of when and where the major winter storm will arrive, and what current forecasts predict it will deliver.
Friday
CITIES IMPACTED: Midland, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Wichita, Little Rock, Shreveport
INTERSTATES IMPACTED: I-40, I-20, I-10, I-35
AIRPORTS IMPACTED: OKC, DFW, IAH, SHV, LIT, HOU
Freezing rain coats the Seattle area on Dec. 23, 2022. (Scott Sistek / FOX Weather)
The first impacts of the potentially historic major winter storm will begin in the Southern and Central Plains, packing significant snowfall and ice accumulation that is expected to arrive on Friday and persist through the weekend, serving as the first stop on the powerful storm's more than 2,000-mile trek east across the Southern Tier of the continental U.S.
In a region that doesn't often face winter weather of this magnitude, there are heightened concerns about major travel disruptions and widespread power outages, as preparations are underway by state transportation departments and residents racing to the grocery store and emptying shelves in anticipation of the rare weather.
The storm will start intensifying Friday afternoon, where snow will blanket an area from the Texas Panhandle into Kansas and possibly Missouri.
According to the FOX Forecast Center, a wide swath of 5 to 8 inches looks the most probable; however, some areas could get up to a foot, which could include Oklahoma City, Kansas City and Wichita, Kansas.
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The initial impacts will start out as cold rain to the south in parts of Texas on Friday afternoon. With colder air surging in at the surface and warmer air aloft, freezing rain will quickly develop late on Friday and into Saturday morning.
Friday's impacts will be felt from Texas through Louisiana as the storm continues to barrel east into Saturday.
Saturday
CITIES IMPACTED: Dallas, Little Rock, Shreveport, Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta, Charlotte
INTERSTATES IMPACTED: I-40, I-20, I-65
AIRPORTS IMPACTED: BNA, LIT, SHV, MEM, ATL, CLT, HSV, BHM
FILE - A snow plow clears a pathway from snow on February 9, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
Friday night into Saturday, the high impact storm will begin to move into the Southeast, bringing crippling ice and snow to millions. From Mississippi into parts of the Carolinas, power outages will become increasingly likely due to ice and snow, triggering Ice Storm Warnings across Tennessee, northern Mississippi and Alabama.
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Winter weather will continue to impact Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana, and break into Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and into the Carolinas on Saturday.
Major cities including Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta and Charlotte, and a number of major airports and interstates, will feel the effects.
Widespread icing from Midland, Texas, to Dallas and Little Rock is likely throughout most of Saturday, threatening widespread power outages and significant travel disruptions.
Through Saturday afternoon, the storm will bring freezing rain to the Atlanta-Charlotte corridor.
The highest snow totals will be confined to areas along and north of I-40 in Tennessee, specifically along the Cumberland Plateau and potentially into the southern Appalachians of East Tennessee and into Kentucky. Those areas are expected to see significant snow, with Louisville expected to see between 8 and 12 inches of snow.
On Saturday afternoon, snow begins to work its way in from the west across Virginia and West Virginia and sets up for a massive Sunday in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.
Sunday
CITIES IMPACTED: Nashville, Atlanta, Columbia, Raleigh, Wilmington, Richmond, Washington, Philadelphia, New York City
INTERSTATES IMPACTED: I-81, I-95, I-20, I-40, I-75
AIRPORTS IMPACTED: ATL, BNA, RDU, PHL, DCA, LGA, ROA, JFK, EWR
FILE - A resident shovels snow during a storm in Hudson, New York, US, on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. Hundreds of flights have been grounded across the US from a pair of winter storms that left more than a foot of snow in New York's Hudson Valley and sparked blizzard warnings across the Great Plains. (Angus Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
As the sun rises Sunday morning, snow will be falling from northern Virginia to potentially as far north as the New York tri-state area.
Impacts will continue to be felt in the Southeast through Nashville, Atlanta, Columbia, Raleigh, Wilmington and Richmond.
The storm will peak in intensity through the day and into the evening, with snow rates potentially reaching as high as 1 inch per hour.
Winter Storm Watches are now issued from DC through New York City and into Boston. These will be upgraded at some point in the coming days to either Winter Storm Warnings or Winter Weather Advisories as over a foot of snow is likely across 10 states in the Northeast.
Major interstates and airports across the East Coast could see travel delays and cancellations as the biggest snowstorm in years dumps snow from Kentucky through Maine.
Monday
CITIES IMPACTED: New York, Philadelphia, Washington
INTERSTATES IMPACTED: I-81, I-95, I-80
AIRPORTS IMPACTED: EWR, LGA, JFK, PHL, DCA
With the storm forecast winding down on Monday from west to east, snow and ice will stick around as extremely low temperatures across affected areas will lock in winter weather.
Winter weather will likely persist in the Northeast, including New York City and Philadelphia, as the storm wraps up, with the potential for snow to linger across portions of New England into Monday evening as the area of low pressure pulls away from the coast.
In the South, locations from Dallas to Little Rock could wake up to temperatures in the single digits or even below zero by Monday morning, nearly 30 to 40 degrees below average.
Temperatures across the Southeast will remain frigid through the early part of next week, leading to prolonged impacts for areas affected by ice and snow.
Cities from Atlanta to Raleigh and Wilmington will see temperatures running 15 to 20 degrees below average, with daytime highs struggling to even reach the freezing mark for millions.
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Overnight lows are forecast to plunge into the 20s—and potentially the teens—through Tuesday and Wednesday mornings in some areas of the Southeast. This persistent deep freeze will cause any daytime melting to refreeze, creating hazardous black ice and further complicating power restoration and recovery efforts.