By Alex Sosnowski
Accuweather.com
A storm forecast to develop over Texas will spread a swath of disruptive snow, ice and rain from the Plains and Midwest to the East this weekend.
A swath of snow and ice will stretch along a path topping 1,800 miles from Colorado to Maine.
According to AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Henry Margusity, “Enough rain could fall on portions of Kentucky, West Virginia and part of Virginia to raise the risk of flooding.”
The storm will create a slew of travel problems ranging from icy and snow-covered roads to airline delays and probable flight cancellations.
While this will be a warmer storm compared to last weekend, some snow and ice will fall on areas hit with the same from the storm last weekend in the Central and Eastern states.
The track of the warmer storm will draw up a great deal of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and later the Atlantic Ocean. The result will be a long swath of heavy precipitation. The surge of warmth will bring its share of problems.
Snow accumulations will also be found farther south around Columbus, Pittsburgh, Allentown, and New York City but they will be on the lower end due to mixing.
While areas from Nashville to Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, will receive mostly rain at the height of the storm, initial precipitation will occur as ice or a wintry mix.
“Thunderstorms with hail and strong wind gusts are also possible, centered on Arkansas,” Margusity added.
Should a heavy amount of freezing rain occur versus sleet, there could be downed trees and numerous power outages to contend with.
Due to the depth and coldness of the snow cover, widespread flooding problems are not expected with the brief thaw the storm brings to the Northeast. However, should temperatures climb higher than expected with more plain rain, rather than ice and snow, flooding problems associated with ice jams along streams and rivers could develop beyond sporadic incidents.
Another dose of frigid air will follow the storm, so any areas made wet by the rain and thaw will freeze in its wake.