After striking cities like Atlanta and Nashville, a winter storm is now moving through the Carolinas with rare snow and dangerous ice.
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00:00Our coverage continues right now with AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist John Porter.
00:03And John, areas that seldom see snow, the likes of 7, 8, 10, 12, 14 inches, are seeing it this Friday.
00:12We saw some of that last night.
00:13And the impacts continue in a significant way into the southeast right now.
00:18So, John, what's the latest on this ongoing winter storm?
00:21Well, that has been the key point, Jeff, is that snow and ice is less common in the southern United States.
00:27There are less snow plows.
00:29There are less sanders.
00:30People are less used to driving in it.
00:32And so that means even greater impacts.
00:34And we have had all kinds of problems here across much of the southeast from Atlanta through parts of Tennessee up into Kentucky.
00:42And now getting into the Carolinas with all types of winter problems here.
00:47You see the blue, that's areas of snow expanding through North Carolina.
00:50We have an icy mix just to the south, that's sleet and freezing rain.
00:54All kinds of road problems and problems at the airports with that.
00:57And then areas of heavy rain further to the south.
01:00So a bit of everything here.
01:01This is sliding to the east, and we're going to be dealing with more problems with snow and ice,
01:06especially centered over North Carolina and southeast Virginia here as we head through the overnight hours tonight and the first part of tomorrow.
01:13And, John, this is a little bit more of a muted hit for the northeast as it is moving out to sea.
01:18But there will still be some snow, and I know we'll talk about that in a moment.
01:21But kind of keying in on the greatest impacts for tonight.
01:24Some areas like Raleigh and Charlotte are firing at all cylinders here with the DOT crews stressed to their limits,
01:31given fewer resources than up in Buffalo, New York.
01:34This is not going to be a pleasant evening commute across the Raleigh area and Charlotte as the snow and sleet continues to expand in that area.
01:43And even in the places further to the west where the snow, the material snow has ended,
01:47watch for a refreeze tonight and tomorrow night across parts of Texas over toward Arkansas.
01:53There can even be some freezing fog in the mix there as well as some freezing drizzle that can add extra icy spots.
02:00And looking a little more specifically at one or two spots here where we certainly care about,
02:04those of you in Raleigh, for example, tonight looking at a coating to an inch building in.
02:08That's a big deal there in Raleigh.
02:10It is enough to cause slippery travel and a little bit of sleet there as well.
02:14This is on the AccuWeather Wintercast.
02:16This is a great resource because we show you how much we're expecting in your area,
02:20plus the prospects for a little bit more, a little bit less.
02:23You can get this for any location where you're traveling to or friends or family are located on the AccuWeather app.
02:28That's a free download, a great resource.
02:30And a big part of the story in Raleigh also involves freezing rain and sleet, which is even more problematic than snow.
02:36It sure is.
02:37And in addition to the travel problems, there could be enough freezing rain in some spots of the Carolinas
02:41where there can be some localized power outage issues as well.
02:44And then the heavy snow moves up into parts of southeast Virginia for first thing tomorrow,
02:48coating to an inch, maybe two across the D.C. and Baltimore area.
02:52And there's an example of AccuWeather's Wintercast for ice there in Charlotte.
02:55Significant icing power outages will accompany many of these problems.
02:59And, John, a quick glance farther northeast.
03:01I know Bree's going to jump in on this story in greater detail,
03:04but still some accumulations coming for many who are waiting for their first flakes tonight.
03:08Thanks again for your insight.
03:09As always, AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist John Porter, always glad to have you on the big show.
03:15All right, thanks, John.