Overview
- National Weather Service guidance highlights subzero wind chills spreading from the Northern Plains into the Midwest, Ohio Valley and Northeast by Sunday, with wind chills as low as minus 50 in parts of the Upper Midwest.
- Forecasts call for up to around a half‑inch of ice in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas, raising the risk of fallen trees, power line damage and prolonged outages.
- Winter storm watches and warnings are posted from Texas through Oklahoma and Arkansas as the system organizes Friday, and Texas has activated state emergency response resources ahead of the storm.
- Heavy snow is likely along a broad corridor from Oklahoma and northern Texas through Tennessee and into Virginia and Maryland, with the Mid‑Atlantic favored for significant accumulations late in the weekend.
- Major travel disruption is anticipated at airports and on interstates across the storm’s footprint, energy demand is surging with natural‑gas prices jumping, and forecasters stress the exact track remains uncertain.