Overview
- National Weather Service forecasts 8 to 12 inches of snow across eastern North Carolina with localized higher totals, whiteout conditions, and gusts up to 70 mph along the Outer Banks, warning this could be the region’s biggest storm since 1989.
- Ocean overwash of 2 to 4 feet is possible around high tide on the Outer Banks, threatening N.C. Highway 12 and prompting beach and campground closures reported by the National Park Service.
- States of emergency are in effect in Georgia and the Carolinas as winter alerts stretch across at least 16 states, and officials urge residents to stay off roads to allow crews to treat hazardous surfaces.
- Snow is spreading through Virginia, South Carolina and parts of Georgia with lighter accumulations near Savannah, where local forecasts also flag single‑digit wind chills and extreme cold warnings.
- Arctic air behind the storm will push subfreezing temperatures into South Florida by Sunday, with nearly 200,000 customers still without power in the South and NASA postponing a Cape Canaveral fueling test due to the weather.