Extreme cold warning: 100 million Americans in 19 states brace for catastrophic ice storm, list of major airports to be hit

An estimated 100 million people across the U.S from New Mexico to the Carolinas were under some type of winter weather watch, warning or advisory on Wednesday ahead of a storm, the National Weather Service said. The potentially catastrophic ice storm that could crush trees and power lines and knock out power for days, while many northern states all the way to New England could see enough snow to make travel nearly impossible, forecasters say.

Major U.S. hub airports in the path of the southern storm this weekend, when ice, sleet and snow could delay passengers and cargo: Dallas-Fort Worth; Atlanta; Memphis, Tennessee, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Still more major airports on the East Coast could see delays later, as the storm barrels east.

Parts of at least 19 states in the storm’s path were under winter storm watches by late Wednesday, with more watches and warnings expected as the system approaches. They include Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. An estimated 55 million people are included in these winter storm watches, the weather service said.


An outbreak of Arctic air will expand from the northern part of the Plains to the Midwest and central Plains. This will fuel major snow and ice storms from Friday to Sunday in the southern and eastern United States. As the colder air passes over the Great Lakes, flurries, snow squalls and bands of lake-effect snow will extend from Michigan to New York and Pennsylvania on Thursday. A clipper storm will also cause light snow and flurries from the Dakotas to Minnesota and Wisconsin, NYT News Service reported.

A large storm is expected to draw subtropical moisture up into an Arctic air mass across the southern U.S. from Friday to Sunday, resulting in a narrow corridor of damaging ice accumulation from central Texas and through the southern Appalachians.

FAQs

Q1. Which airports are likely to be hit by snow storm?

A1. Major U.S. hub airports in the path of the southern storm this weekend, when ice, sleet and snow could delay passengers and cargo: Dallas-Fort Worth; Atlanta; Memphis, Tennessee, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Still more major airports on the East Coast could see delays later, as the storm barrels east.

Q2. Which states are to be hit by snow storm?

A2. Parts of at least 19 states in the storm’s path were under winter storm watches by late Wednesday, with more watches and warnings expected as the system approaches. They include Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.