(Atlanta) Bread was flying off shelves, salt was being loaded onto trucks and utility workers were nervously monitoring the weather forecast Thursday as a massive winter storm prepares to sweep across the eastern two-thirds of the United States.
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This massive low pressure system is expected to bring a crippling ice storm from Texas to parts of the South, with potentially around a foot of snow from Oklahoma to Washington, DC, New York and Boston, then a final cold snap that could drop the felt temperature to -46°C in parts of Minnesota and North Dakota.
Forecasters warn that damage, particularly in areas heavily affected by ice, could be comparable to that of a hurricane.
The storm is expected to begin Friday in New Mexico and Texas, then the worst of the severe weather will move east into the Deep South before moving up the coast and hitting New England with snow.
The subsequent cold snap means it will take some time for the snow to melt, which is particularly dangerous in places where ice and snow weigh down tree branches and power lines and knock out power, perhaps for several days. Roads and sidewalks could remain icy until next week.
Freezing temperatures are expected as far away as Florida and minimum temperatures in the North and Midwest will bottom out, possibly as low as -32 to -34 C, forecasters said.
Winter storms are notoriously difficult to predict: one or two degrees can mean the difference between disaster and cold rain. Forecasters have warned that it is impossible to determine which locations will be most affected before the event begins.
College sports teams moved forward or postponed their games, and the Texas Rangers canceled their annual Fan Fest event.
The town of Carmel, Indiana, canceled its Winter Games over concerns that residents would suffer frostbite and hypothermia from participating in tricycle ice relays and “human curling,” where participants slide across an ice rink using buoys.
In Arkansas, the Department of Transportation began treating some roads with brine on Tuesday. Salt helps prevent ice from forming. More than 10 inches of snow was expected in parts of the state.
Rain complicated efforts to pretreat roads with salt in Alabama on Wednesday, as precipitation washed away the brine. The Alabama Department of Transportation encouraged people to stay off the roads if ice forms.
