Rare Winter Storm Sweeps Across the South: What to Know

Parts of the South not used to winter weather were waking up on Friday to a mix of snow and sleet, as officials closed schools and warned that travel may become next to impossible.

A winter storm warning was in effect from eastern Oklahoma to Virginia, and snow and freezing rain was falling in cities including Jackson, Miss.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Atlanta as of 7 a.m. Eastern.

Key things to know

• In the Southern United States, it doesn’t take huge amounts of snow or ice to disrupt everyday life.

• Snow fell from North Texas to Memphis from Thursday evening into early Friday, with up to five inches reported in Little Rock, Ark., and Oklahoma City as of 5 a.m. Eastern, according to the National Weather Service.

• Parts of the Mid-Atlantic, the Ohio Valley and the Northeast could see one to three inches of snow from Friday into Saturday.

• Though the storm will move out to sea by Saturday, the region will see cooler temperatures into next week, prolonging the likelihood of hazardous travel conditions.

Flight cancellations were starting to pile up, with nearly 600 flights in and out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday canceled as of 7 a.m. Hundreds of flights had been canceled in and out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport as well.

Public schools in Atlanta were closed, and forecasters expect freezing rain and up to three inches of snow starting Friday morning.

Gov. Brian P. Kemp of Georgia declared a state of emergency on Thursday because of the forecast and said it would be in place through Tuesday. He asked residents to avoid travel as much as possible in the next few days. “Hazardous conditions, including ice and snow, can develop quickly and make travel very dangerous,” he said in a statement.

Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee also announced a state of emergency on Thursday afternoon. While Tennessee is familiar with winter storms, some areas, like Memphis, could receive their largest two-day snow totals in 40 years. Parts of the state are still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which moved through the state as a tropical storm in September.

Forecasters in Nashville urged residents not to focus on the precise levels of snowfall, as any amount could make travel risky.

In Atlanta, it has been nearly 11 years since a small snowstorm, locally referred to as “snowmageddon,” shut down the city and became a punchline for a “Saturday Night Live” skit.

While snow has fallen in the city since then, the latest storm could still catch people off guard as the type of precipitation changes through the day. What is expected to start as snow Friday morning is likely to turn to sleet and then freezing rain across the Atlanta metropolitan area, threatening to turn untreated roads into icy hazards by the evening.

Across North Carolina, a similar scenario will begin to unfold around midday Friday and last into Saturday. Accumulations of up to two inches are currently expected in the Mid-Atlantic area east of the Allegheny Mountains.

The storm is then expected to move off the coast, where it will strengthen but remain far enough away to avoid being a major hazard for the Northeast.

Unusual cold across the East Coast is expected to continue into next week, allowing for some snow to stick around. And areas where the snow has melted during the day may refreeze at night, creating ongoing hazards.