Dangerous ice storm, heavy snowfall, potential travel woes and power outages expected

As many as 80 million people are under winter weather alerts from that region to the Northeast, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said.

“I am particularly concerned for the impending ice storm that will impact the interior of South and North Carolina. Following a round of heavy snow, up to 3/4 of an inch of ice could accumulate,” Van Dam said.

“This will certainly bring power outages in the area as winds gust over 40 mph,” he added.

Greenville, South Carolina, and Charlotte and Raleigh in North Carolina are under winter storm warnings, forecasters said. As much as a foot of snow could fall near the edge of the Blue Ridge escarpment in Greenville and as much as 20 inches of snow could accumulate above 4,000 feet of elevation in that area. A tenth of an inch of ice is also possible.

The National Weather Service has issued an ice storm warning for portions of South Carolina, in effect through early Monday, with temperatures likely to remain sub-freezing until the start of next week.

“Significant amounts of ice accumulations will make travel dangerous or impossible. Travel is strongly discouraged,” according to the NWS office in Greenville.

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Charlotte could get up to a foot of snow in the foothills, and possibly as much as a half-inch of ice. Raleigh is expected to get up to 2 inches of snow and maybe a quarter-inch of ice, forecasters said.

The NWS is warning that ice accumulations will become very dangerous along and east of I-85 including Spartanburg, South Carolina, all the way up to Salisbury, North Carolina. This includes the entire metro Charlotte area. “The highest snowfall totals are expected along the spine of the Appalachians as well as across the lower Great Lakes,” the National Weather Service said early Sunday.

“The most significant icing is expected over the Carolinas this morning. Significant impacts to travel across these regions are expected,” the NWS said.

Snowfall rates could top one inch per hour from northeast Georgia into the western Carolinas and far eastern Tennessee, the Storm Prediction Center said. Heavy snow will is also possible in western Virginia.

From the Mid-Atlantic through New England, the NWS said, “precipitation is forecast to begin as snow before changing over to ice/sleet and eventually rain with the approach of the storm center.”

The governors of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia declared states of emergency, allowing resources to be positioned ahead of the storm’s arrival.

Parts of northern and central Georgia could also see powerful winds Sunday, the National Weather Service in Atlanta said.

“With strong winds and the potential for winter weather, we are highly concerned about downed trees and powerlines knocking out power through Sunday, so prepare now!” the service wrote on Twitter Saturday evening.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp ordered the state Department of Defense to prepare 1,000 National Guard troops to assist in the response to the storm.