From the Weather Channel:
"Winter Storm Diego To Bring Cross-Country Swath of Snow, Ice From Southern Plains to the Southeast"
Winter Storm Diego will spread a widespread mess of snow, sleet and freezing rain from the southern Plains to the Ozarks and the Southeast late this week into early next week. Diego was named Wednesday evening with the expectation that its long swath of wintry precipitation will meet both the areal and population thresholds used to trigger naming. The storm system is currently producing lower-elevation rain and mountain snow from Southern California into parts of the Southwest. Heavy rain and high elevation snow cause problems in southern California on Thursday. Mudslides and flash flooding forced evacuations and necessitated several rescues while higher elevations in the southern Sierra picked up 6 inches of snowfall. From Friday into early next week, Diego will unleash its heaviest amounts of snow and ice as it moves farther eastward while interacting with cold air supplied by high pressure to its north. The snow and ice will cause significant travel disruptions from parts of the southern Plains into the Southeast. Ice accumulations in some areas may be heavy enough for tree damage and power outages as well. Winter storm warnings have been issued for the San Bernardino mountains in southern California. Winter storm watches have been issued by the National Weather Service from eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle eastward to Oklahoma, southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. Those watches include Amarillo, Texas, Lubbock, Texas, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Branson, Missouri, and Fayetteville, Arkansas. Winter storm watches are now in effect for parts of the southern Appalachians, western and central North Carolina and western Virginia for Saturday evening through Monday. These watches include Charlotte and Greensboro, North Carolina and Johnson City, Tennessee. These watches stand as a heads up that dangerous winter weather conditions, including heavy snow and/or damaging ice, are possible this weekend. Additional winter alerts will likely be issued farther east, and possibly south, along the path of Diego in the next day or so.
Winter Storm Diego Timing:
Friday-Friday Night
- Freezing rain may begin to develop in spots across the Texas Panhandle early Friday, then become more widespread later into Friday. The ice accumulations in this swath could be damaging to power lines and trees.
- A few flurries are likely in the southern Rockies during the daylight hours Friday.
- By later Friday or Friday night, widespread snow will develop from eastern New Mexico into the Texas Panhandle, northwestern Oklahoma and southern Kansas.
- Snow, sleet and freezing rain may spread as far east as southern Missouri and northern Arkansas by Friday night.
- Rain, heavy at times, is expected farther south across Texas, Louisiana, southern Arkansas, northern Mississippi, southwestern Tennessee and northwestern Alabama.
- Travel will likely be affected by wet and/or wintry weather on stretches of interstates 40 and 35 in the southern Plains.
Saturday-Saturday Night
- Freezing rain is expected to transition to accumulating snow in the Texas Panhandle and much of western and central Oklahoma. Snow will continue in southern Kansas as well.
- Snow, sleet and freezing rain will also impact the Ozarks of southern Missouri (mainly snow) and northern Arkansas (mixture of snow and ice).
- The snow and ice will also begin to spread into parts of the Ohio Valley, the southern Appalachians and its adjacent Piedmont region by later Saturday or Saturday night.
- There is the potential for wintry travel with snow or ice as far south as northeastern Georgia and the Interstate 85 corridor in the Carolinas by Saturday night.
Sunday-Sunday Night
- Snow, heavy at times, will affect the southern half of the Appalachians, potentially including far upstate South Carolina, western North Carolina, southern Virginia and southern West Virginia.
- Snow and strong winds may contribute to "at least brief blizzard conditions" in the highest elevations of western North Carolina, according to the National Weather Service.
- Significant ice or snow will impact parts of the adjacent foothills and Piedmont region as far south and east as the Interstate 85 corridor in the Carolinas and possibly as far east as Interstate 95 in southern Virginia.
- Travel disruption is possible on stretches of Interstate 26, Interstate 40, Interstate 85, Interstate 77 and Interstate 95.
- Farther west, snow or a mix of rain and snow may continue from the Ohio Valley into the mid-South region.
- Strong onshore winds may contribute to pounding surf, beach erosion and possible coastal flooding from the southern mid-Atlantic coast to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, including the Delmarva Peninsula and the Virginia Tidewater.
Monday
- Strengthening low pressure off the Southeast coast may allow snow or a rain-and-snow mix to linger from the southern Appalachians and adjacent Piedmont into the Tennessee Valley.
- We will continue to monitor the storm for any potential turn toward the northeastern United States early next week. As of right now, the majority of forecast guidance suggests the low will stay far enough offshore to prevent major impacts in the Northeast.
How Much Snow and Ice?
Snow and ice accumulations from this storm will be expansive, extending from the southern Plains, Ozarks and Ohio Valley to the southern half of the Appalachian Mountains and the adjacent Piedmont region. Significant mixing is likely in each of these areas, meaning additional rain, sleet or freezing rain compared to these forecasts will cut down snowfall totals. If the air is colder than currently forecast, then the opposite could occur, and more snow would accumulate. Here's an initial look at what to expect in each region, keeping in mind it's subject to change.
Southern Plains and Ozarks
- Snow totals in the southern Plains are forecast to be generally less than 6 inches in the Texas Panhandle, eastern New Mexico and in western, central and northern Oklahoma. Localized amounts could top a half-foot in the northern Texas Panhandle.
- Up to 6 inches of snow is possible in parts of the Ozarks in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. Some sleet and freezing rain will also impact this region.
- Significant icing, potentially causing tree damage and triggering power outages, is also possible from southern parts of the Texas Panhandle into central Oklahoma and northern Arkansas. This may include Lubbock, Texas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Ohio Valley to the Appalachians and Piedmont
- Some of the heaviest snow accumulations from Winter Storm Diego will be in the southern half of the Appalachians, including western North Carolina, southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia. Totals topping a half-foot or even a foot are likely in this region.
- Significant ice and snow accumulations could also impact the adjacent foothills and Piedmont, but it's too early for specifics since precipitation types may vary in those lower elevations.
- Power outages and tree damage could occur in areas where snow and ice accumulations are heaviest.
There is the possibility that Diego could bring a foot or more of snow to Asheville, North Carolina. In records dating to 1869, the western North Carolina city has only seen a dozen snowstorms with accumulations of at least 12 inches.
^ I remember living in the South and people freaked-out and everything closed with just the mention of snow and how they were so unprepared to handle it once it did start falling. I hope all my family and friends living below the Mason-Dixon stay safe when the rain, ice and snow fall. ^
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