A new and potentially devastating ice storm is set to sweep across the southern United States this weekend, threatening widespread disruption. The event, expected from late this week into the weekend, has been described as a 'widespread potentially catastrophic event from Texas to the Carolinas' by Ryan Maue, a former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Forecasters warn that ice accumulation could heavily burden trees and power lines, leading to extensive power outages. Keith Avery, CEO of the Newberry Electric Cooperative in South Carolina, said: 'If you get a half of an inch of ice — or heaven forbid an inch of ice — that could be catastrophic.' The National Weather Service has warned of 'great swaths of heavy snow, sleet, and treacherous freezing rain' starting Friday across much of the nation's midsection, shifting toward the East Coast through Sunday.
An extremely cold arctic air mass is diving south from Canada, clashing with cold temperatures and rain streaming eastward across the southern US. 'This is extreme, even for this being the peak of winter,' said National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Jackson. An atmospheric river of moisture could pull precipitation across Texas, the Gulf Coast, Georgia, and the Carolinas by the weekend.
Travel is a major concern, as southern states have less equipment to remove snow and ice, and extremely cold temperatures could prevent ice from melting for days. Major hub airports in Dallas, Atlanta, Memphis, and Charlotte are expected to be impacted. In Michigan, over 100 vehicles crashed or slid off an interstate on Monday.
The earliest impacts could be in Texas on Friday, with low temperatures potentially falling into the 20s or teens by Saturday. Forecasters caution that significant uncertainty remains, particularly over ice or snow amounts in north and central Texas. 'It's going to be a very difficult forecast,' said forecaster Sam Shamburger.
