‘Biggest snowstorm in decades’ takes aim at parts of the South

The East Coast isn’t done yet with frigid temperatures and winter weather as it braces for a storm meteorologists have described as a bomb cyclone, nor’easter and a blizzard.

Blizzard conditions are headed for the Carolinas due to a “rapidly intensifying coastal cyclone,” the National Weather Service said on Friday. Through the weekend, heavy snow, high winds and hazardous travel conditions will take aim at North and South Carolina, along with parts of Virginia and Georgia.

Central North Carolina expects to see between 4 and 8 inches of snow, with localized amounts a foot or greater, starting Friday evening, the weather service in Raleigh said. Wind chills will reach as low as minus 5 degrees in the region.

The weather service in Columbia, South Carolina, said some areas could see 6 to 8 inches near the border between the Carolinas while other areas will see 3 to 6.

“For cities such as Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro, this storm could be the biggest snowstorm in decades,” AccuWeather said.

According to AccuWeather, up to 6 inches of snow is possible across southern Virginia.

Weekend forecast

Snow starting out in Kentucky Friday morning was expected to expand into the Appalachians, and meanwhile, the coastal cyclone remained brewing off the southeastern U.S. coast. The cyclone is expected to intensify on Saturday and Sunday, bringing coastal flooding up and down the East Coast.

In the midst of this new round of weather woes for the East, an Arctic blast is set to surge southward, reaching as far south as the Gulf Coast by Friday evening, the weather service said. Daily low temperatures could be broken across the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic, and “dangerously cold temperatures” will reach the Southeast, where even Floridians could get some snow flurries. South Florida is expected to see freezing weather as February begins.

Some of the same regions impacted by the huge winter storm last weekend will again be plagued with frigid cold and snow.

“This is a serious and deadly stretch of winter weather that just won’t let up,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said in an advisory.

Leaders in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia issued or extended states of emergency ahead of the winter storm.

“The snow is going to come with strong winds and bitterly cold temperatures,” North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said. “Our greatest concern is unsafe travel … stay home and off the roads during winter weather.”

Where will it snow?

A patch of snow moved into Kentucky on Friday morning and will move across the southern Appalachians on Saturday. Snow will spread across the Carolinas, southern Virginia and northern Georgia, the weather service said.

Moderate to heavy snow could stretch all the way out to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Parts of Maryland and Delaware could also see some snow.

Winter storm warnings blanketed the Carolinas, northeastern Georgia, southern Virginia and eastern Tennessee. Thirty-one million people were under winter storm warnings Friday afternoon.

The storm’s exact path through the mid-Atlantic and Northeast is not 100% settled, but AccuWeather meteorologists said the most likely zone to see snow is 3 to 6 inches in southeastern Massachusetts, 1 to 3 inches in Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts and eastern coastal Maine. Flurries are expected between northern Virginia to New York City.