Winter storm warnings abound as snow, sleet could hit Dallas

Another brewing winter storm is forecast to dump heavy snow, ice and freezing rain from the South to the Mid-Atlantic this week, which could knock out power and close roads.

Days after a deadly storm pummeled the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, a developing system is expected to move out of Mexico across the Gulf Coast late Thursday, to western Florida by Friday evening and hit the southern Mid-Atlantic coast by Saturday.

The incoming storm is predicted to bring 6 to 8 inches of snow from southeast Oklahoma through western North Carolina, the National Weather Service warned Thursday. Ice and freezing rain will hit the southern Plains and the Lower Mississippi Valley before heading towards parts of the Southeast, Southern Appalachians, and up to the Mid-Atlantic on Friday.

The Tennessee Valley could see some of the heaviest snowfall, with 6 inches expected on Friday. A wide swath of the country is under winter weather warnings and advisories and will see impacts including "widespread closures, treacherous travel, scattered power outages, and downed branches," the weather service said.

"Roads, and especially bridges and overpasses, will likely become slick and hazardous," the weather service office in Shreveport, Louisiana warned. "The strong winds and weight of snow on tree limbs may down power lines and could cause sporadic power outages. Power outages and tree damage are likely due to the ice. Travel could be nearly impossible."

Dozens of winter storm warnings were issued Thursday in northeastern Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, southern Arkansas, northern Louisiana, southeastern Missouri, which are set to expire on Friday. Warnings will remain in effect in Tennessee, northern Alabama, as well as portions of south central Indiana and Kentucky through Saturday.

"In places that don't get snow or ice very often, such as Austin, Dallas, Little Rock, and Nashville, it will be a big deal," AccuWeather meteorologist Tom Kines told USA TODAY earlier this week, noting that cities like Dallas could see their most significant snowfalls in several years.

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Thousands without power in the storm's path

Thousands of customers in the path of the storm are without power as more bad weather approaches, according to USA TODAY's power outage tracker.

More than 5,600 homes and businesses in southern Indiana and 3,100 in Kentucky were in the dark mid-morning on Thursday. Another nearly 6,000 were without power in eastern Missouri.

The National Weather Service in Atlanta also warnedthat most of north Georgia was under a winter storm watch and should be prepared for difficult travel and power outages.

Texas prepares for winter weather

A mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain has already begun falling as the storm, dubbed Winter Storm Cora, hit western Texas, The Weather Channel reported Thursday.

Between 2 and 5 inches of snow and sleet are expected to accumulate in parts of the state, with isolated snowfall reaching up to 10 inches in some areas, the weather service in Fort Worth said. If Dallas - where the yearly historical snowfall average is 1.6 inches – gets half a foot of snow, it would be among the "top-five snowfalls on record," according to AccuWeather.

Dozens of schools are closed or will open late across north and central Texas in anticipation of the storm. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday he had directed over a dozen state agencies to prepare for the inclement weather, concentrating resources in northern and western Texas.

Power outages and a lack of snowplows have remained a concern during winter storms for Texans, particularly after 2021, when nearly 70% of the state lost power and ice and snow made many roads impassable and dangerous during a dayslong Arctic winter storm.

Electric Reliability Council of Texas Chief Pablo Vegas said the state’s power grid, which came within minutes of total collapse during the 2021 storm, is expected to have a “more than adequate supply” of energy to keep homes powered and warm through this winter storm. Roads with “hot spots” have been pretreated with brine since Tuesday, and the state has invested in more snowplows and “strategically” deployed them, said Brian Barth, Texas Department of Transportation deputy executive director.