Snow-covered roads lead to treacherous travel as winter storm barrels across US toward East Coast

A powerful winter storm slammed communities from the Plains and Midwest through the Tennessee Valley on Tuesday and Wednesday, dumping heavy snow that led to reports of numerous crashes due to the treacherous travel conditions.

The storm is now continuing on its journey to the east.

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Early Wednesday morning, snow was falling across the Appalachians ahead of unleashing its last round of winter weather in the mid-Atlantic and parts of the Southeast.

Millions of people from the Midwest and mid-Mississippi Valley to the Carolinas and Virginia on the East Coast are all included in winter weather alerts, including Winter Storm Warnings for cities such as Nashville in Tennessee and Louisville, London and Paducah in Kentucky.

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Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that state offices would be closed on Wednesday due to the winter weather, and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, said it would be opening late because of the conditions.

Similar announcements were made in Tennessee, where Gov. Bill Lee announced that state offices in the West and Middle Grand divisions would remain closed on Wednesday.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has urged his residents to remain vigilant because of the winter weather as the region continues to recover in the wake of deadly flash flooding that slammed the region last weekend.

He warned that snow and bitterly cold temperatures are expected across much of the state through the rest of the week.

“If you can’t turn your heat on by (Tuesday) afternoon, you need to call a family member or friend to go stay with them,” Beshear said. “If that option isn’t available, please go to an emergency shelter.”

Thousands of Department of Highways crews have been working tirelessly to remove mud and debris from hundreds of roads because of the flooding. Now, to add insult to injury, those same crews have been preparing for the onslaught of winter weather.

Beshear said snowplows and salt trucks were working to keep state highways passable but warned that the incoming extreme cold would make it difficult for them as salt and other anti-icing agents become less effective.

Dangerous snow, ice target mid-Atlantic

The mid-Atlantic is the next target for the winter storm as it continues to barrel out of the Ohio Valley and into the Appalachians.

The FOX Forecast Center said that after a “break” in the intensity of the snow in the central Appalachians, renewed heavy precipitation will develop later Wednesday morning, especially across southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, as a secondary low-pressure system develops off the East Coast.

Due to the winter weather threat, the governor of North Carolina declared a state of emergency and prepared residents for treacherous travel conditions and power outages.

Snow and freezing rain will spread across the region through Wednesday morning, and some strong, quick bursts of snow will cover parts of Virginia.

Starting Wednesday afternoon and into the evening, the heaviest snow will fall across the mid-Atlantic, especially in the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia and far northeastern North Carolina.

The biggest snowstorm of the season so far in the Richmond, Virginia, area was reported on Jan. 5-6, when about 6 inches of snow fell.

The FOX Forecast Center said there is a good chance that this storm could eclipse that threshold. In Norfolk, Virginia, the biggest winter storm of the season occurred on Jan. 22-23, when 3.8 inches fell.

“Not only will this storm likely shatter (that measurement), it will have the chance to be the biggest in the city since 2018,” the FOX Forecast Center said.

And it’s not only the snow that will be an issue.

An icy swath is expected across portions of the Carolinas near and to the south of the storm’s track.

Portions of southern Virginia and North Carolina, including Raleigh and Charlotte, are expected to experience icing late Wednesday through late Wednesday night.