Snow Moves Into East After Frigid Conditions Affect South

Snow is expected in parts of the east coast on Wednesday, with government forecasters predicting snowfall moving into the mid-Atlantic and the southeast while expanding northwards overnight and into the morning, making for a messy morning commute.

The snow in New England is expected to be heavy at times and parts of the southeast may see freezing rain or sleet. The snowfall accumulations will be light along the immediate coast while inland areas away from I-95 could see a dusting to three inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.

The Arctic front being blamed for the impending snow in the eastern U.S. has already brought wintry weather and freezing temperatures to parts of the south, creating an inconvenient situation for commuters and leading to dozens of school cancellations.

The winter storm brought snow, ice and frigid temperatures to the southern U.S. on Tuesday. In the Houston area, officials said more than 100 highways in the region were icy, hundred of flights at the city's major airport were canceled and schools announced that they would be closed for yet another day.

In Louisiana, parts of several interstates were closed owing to icy conditions and a mix of precipitation continued to move east across the state as of Tuesday night. In Mississippi, officials reported that there was ice on the roads in most of the state and advised people not to travel if they could avoid it. The NWS said snow was continuing across much of south and east Mississippi through Tuesday evening and warned people to prepare for slick roads.

The snowy weather led to similar condition in Kentucky where roads were slick and preliminary snowfall totals ranged from three to six inches in the state.

The system was expected to push into the Carolinas overnight. Forecasters said up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) could fall in central North Carolina, with a couple of inches expected father east. Northwestern South Carolina could get up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow, the weather service said.

Snow also was in a forecast Wednesday for parts of Alabama, where Gov. Kay Ivey shut down government offices Wednesday as a precaution.

According to the NWS, very cold temperatures will continue to impact parts of the Deep South into Thursday.

The NWS predicts that the snow will end over the mid-Atlantic by late Wednesday evening while in New England, the snow will be light by Wednesday evening before ending overnight.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Image via NWS