Much of the nation east of the Rocky Mountains is hunkered down for what could bethe worst winter storm of the season, followed by some of the coldest temperatures seen in years.
The storm began out of Texas and Oklahoma Friday evening, hitting the region with heavy sleet and snow. Forecasters have warned of "catastrophic" ice accumulation. On Saturday, the system is expected to push towards Virginia, dumping a foot of snow or more on parts of the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic, while New England sees double-digit subzero temperatures.
"Take this storm seriously, folks," theNational Weather Servicewarned in statements on social media. "The cold can be deadly."
By late Friday evening, forecasters in Lubbock, Texas, warned that the mix of falling sleet and snow would make for dangerous driving conditions; thousands of Saturday flights were scrapped; Catholic faith leaders fromArkansastoWashington, D.C., gave special permission to miss Mass; Trump administration officials told employees toskipcoming into work; and even ice hockey teams were forced toreschedule.
Here's what to know about the weekend's storm expected to hit tens of millions of Americans.
Massive winter storm set to blanket nation. See photos
Salt shortages reported in some states
States from Michigan to Vermont are facing salt shortages ahead of the upcoming storm, according to reports by local and national outlets.
Shortages in Vermont result from the frequency of storms this season, according to reporting byVermont Public. The lack of salt has forced some towns to scale back ice removal.
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State officials in Michigan also attributed shortages to the severe winter season,CBS Newsreported. An official from Monroe County, located between Detroit and Ohio, told the news station that local crews used more salt in December than in the past four Decembers combined.
Officials in Cleveland are telling residents that they may not have enough salt for residential streets. Plows will still be assigned to clear neighborhoods, the city said.
Can Southerners handle snow? These famous winter storms hit the South.
Forecasters are projecting over 6 inches of snow to fall on areas from New Mexico through the Texas Panhandle and Mississippi Valley, while freezing rain and sleet are expected to pound the Southern Plains, the Mid-South, Tennessee Valley and the southern Mid-Atlantic.
For southern states less equipped for the cold, the forecast sparks fears of a repeat of the 2021 Texas freeze or the bitterly cold winter storm that battered New Orleans in January 2025.
Meteorologists have, luckily, said they don't expect this weekend's storm to be as devastating as others in recent Southern history. But as thousands of people have taken to prepping for the worst-case scenario,buying out storesand fortifying their homes, here's a look back at how the U.S. South has endured major winter storms of the past.
The Great Appalachian Storm of 1950: Nov. 22-30, 1950. Thanksgiving weekend in 1950 was marked by a wintry storm that dumped a deadly amount of snow across the Appalachian region. Heavy snowfall blanketed the area in 30 to 50 inches and, in the case of Coburn Creek, West Virginia, a whopping 62 inches, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Storm of the Century: March 12-15, 1993. This Category 5 storm affected over 100 million people and caused the largest weather-related air travel interruption in the U.S., according to NOAA. The heaviest snow fell from the southern Appalachians to the Canadian border, with some locations reporting over 40 inches. Five feet of snow fell in the Smoky Mountain National Park, while 56 inches fell in Mount LeConte, Tennessee, reported the weather service.
Readmore hereabout past disasters, from the New Year's Snowstorm of 1964 which dropped more than 17 inches of snow on Huntsville, Alabama to the Christmas Coastal Snowstorm of 1989 that saw all-time low temperatures hit coastal North Carolina.
— Mary Walrath-Holdridge
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Much of nation hunkers down as snow, sleet, ice batter states
