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Winter Storm Pax Forecast: Crippling Ice Storm, Heavy Snow in South
By Chris Dolce, Jon Erdman and Nick Wiltgen Published: Feb 12, 2014, 8:56 PM EST weather.com
Winter Storm Pax is now delivering a major ice storm, not to mention a swath of significant snow across a wide swath of the South.
Ice accumulation has knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people and littered roads with fallen tree limbs and downed wires. Travel has become difficult, if not impossible, in the hardest-hit areas.
Pax is also starting to impact the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast with snow and ice. For details on that part of the storm, click the link below to see our forecast article focused on those regions.
Below we have the latest forecast on the serious icing and snow from Pax in the South.
Major Ice Storm, Snow in South
The first round of Winter Storm Pax brought snow and sleet from northern Mississippi to northern Alabama, northern Georgia, northern South Carolina and parts of North Carolina on Tuesday. Over one-quarter inch of ice accumulated in parts of the Shreveport, La. metro area. Up to 10 inches of snow was reported in parts of North Carolina.
Locations with the heaviest freezing rain accumulations are experiencing widespread power outages and tree damage. In addition to the weight of the ice on tree branches and power lines, gusty winds at times will also add to the widespread power outage threat.
The areas in greatest threat for crippling ice accumulations include parts of north and east Georgia through central/eastern South Carolina and into central/eastern North Carolina. This area of concern is in the darker shadings of red on our power outage forecast map above at the right. Ice accumulations of a half inch to one inch, possibly locally higher, are expected in this corridor.
Portions of the Atlanta metro area (south and east sides), Augusta, Ga., Columbia, S.C. (near or south) and Raleigh, N.C. may see additional power outages. Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Wilmington, N.C. suffered extensive power failures Wednesday.
Overnight Wednesday night, the area of freezing rain will gradually end from south to north, first in Georgia, then northward into the Carolinas by daybreak Thursday, as a punch of dry air aloft moves in. With that said, some patchy leftover freezing drizzle is possible into early Thursday morning from parts of Virginia into the central and eastern Carolinas.
Also Wednesday evening, any sleet or freezing rain will eventually change to accumulating snow across northeast Alabama and north Georgia, including Atlanta.
On the snowy side of Winter Storm Pax, snow will spread northward Wednesday into the central Appalachians and Shenandoah Valley, continuing Wednesday night into Thursday morning, before slowly winding down Thursday.
Six inches or more of snow is likely to blanket locations from the north Georgia mountains into Virginia. This includes Asheville, N.C., Greensboro, N.C., Charlotte, N.C. and Roanoke, Va. Some locations in the Piedmont of the Carolinas and western Virginia will locally pick up over a foot of total snow.
As mentioned before, Winter Storm Pax will go on to produce significant snow in the Middle Atlantic and Northeast. For details, click the link below.
By Chris Dolce, Jon Erdman and Nick Wiltgen Published: Feb 12, 2014, 8:56 PM EST weather.com
Winter Storm Pax is now delivering a major ice storm, not to mention a swath of significant snow across a wide swath of the South.
Ice accumulation has knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people and littered roads with fallen tree limbs and downed wires. Travel has become difficult, if not impossible, in the hardest-hit areas.
Pax is also starting to impact the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast with snow and ice. For details on that part of the storm, click the link below to see our forecast article focused on those regions.
Below we have the latest forecast on the serious icing and snow from Pax in the South.
Major Ice Storm, Snow in South
The first round of Winter Storm Pax brought snow and sleet from northern Mississippi to northern Alabama, northern Georgia, northern South Carolina and parts of North Carolina on Tuesday. Over one-quarter inch of ice accumulated in parts of the Shreveport, La. metro area. Up to 10 inches of snow was reported in parts of North Carolina.
Locations with the heaviest freezing rain accumulations are experiencing widespread power outages and tree damage. In addition to the weight of the ice on tree branches and power lines, gusty winds at times will also add to the widespread power outage threat.
The areas in greatest threat for crippling ice accumulations include parts of north and east Georgia through central/eastern South Carolina and into central/eastern North Carolina. This area of concern is in the darker shadings of red on our power outage forecast map above at the right. Ice accumulations of a half inch to one inch, possibly locally higher, are expected in this corridor.
Portions of the Atlanta metro area (south and east sides), Augusta, Ga., Columbia, S.C. (near or south) and Raleigh, N.C. may see additional power outages. Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Wilmington, N.C. suffered extensive power failures Wednesday.
Overnight Wednesday night, the area of freezing rain will gradually end from south to north, first in Georgia, then northward into the Carolinas by daybreak Thursday, as a punch of dry air aloft moves in. With that said, some patchy leftover freezing drizzle is possible into early Thursday morning from parts of Virginia into the central and eastern Carolinas.
Also Wednesday evening, any sleet or freezing rain will eventually change to accumulating snow across northeast Alabama and north Georgia, including Atlanta.
On the snowy side of Winter Storm Pax, snow will spread northward Wednesday into the central Appalachians and Shenandoah Valley, continuing Wednesday night into Thursday morning, before slowly winding down Thursday.
Six inches or more of snow is likely to blanket locations from the north Georgia mountains into Virginia. This includes Asheville, N.C., Greensboro, N.C., Charlotte, N.C. and Roanoke, Va. Some locations in the Piedmont of the Carolinas and western Virginia will locally pick up over a foot of total snow.
As mentioned before, Winter Storm Pax will go on to produce significant snow in the Middle Atlantic and Northeast. For details, click the link below.
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