The second major winter storm of 2025 will ravage the south-central and southeastern United States through the weekend, causing dangerous conditions on roads and numerous delays and cancellations of flights from Dallas to Atlanta and Charlotte, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.

The storm will produce 1 to 6 inches of snow from Central Texas across much of Tennessee and the southern Appalachians Thursday through Friday. This area will have pockets where 6 to 12 inches of snow may fall, from north of Dallas to near Little Rock, Arkansas, as well as the mountains of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina.

“The Dallas metropolitan area is in a zone where snowfall will be limited to sleet and freezing rain during the first part of the storm,” said AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno. “Due to some patches of ice on the front of the storm, 3 to 6 inches of snow is expected in the second half of the storm. More snow will fall when there is no mixing of sleet and freezing rain and accumulation is less where the icy mix has a long shelf life.”

A vast area of ​​sleet will limit the amount of snow that falls Thursday through Friday from northeast Texas across northern portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina, as well as southern portions of Arkansas and central Texas.

While only small amounts of freezing rain are expected along the Interstate 20 corridor, it can still be particularly dangerous for drivers and pedestrians.

This will be a snowstorm for much of Tennessee, including west along the I-40 corridor into central and northern Arkansas and central and eastern Oklahoma.

The snowstorm will hit Nashville and Knoxville, Tennessee on Friday. Although some sleet could reduce accumulation in Memphis and Chatanooga, Tennessee, this will be a disruptive winter storm for the cities.

North of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee, some snow will extend several hundred miles across the central states. While this will be enough to cause slippery accumulation in many areas that were affected by a major snow and ice storm just days earlier, snowfall will tend to be light.

Further south, sleet and freezing rain may occur at times from north of I-10 to near and south of I-20. Some seemingly wet areas may be covered with a thin layer of clear ice, which can be particularly dangerous for drivers.

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The strengthening storm will absorb a significant amount of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and release it in the form of heavy rainfall, including some thunderstorms along the I-10 corridor from Texas to northern Florida. “The downpours from Houston to New Orleans and perhaps Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida, may be strong enough to cause urban flooding,” AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.

In the southern Appalachians, the storm, with its heavy snowfall and pockets of ice, will create additional hardship for those still homeless and recovering from the deadly and destructive flooding caused by Hurricane Helene, which struck again in September.

Motorists should be prepared for hazardous driving conditions due to the winter storm around Atlanta, Charlotte and Greenville, South Carolina. While some snow may fall in these areas during the first few hours of the storm late Thursday evening into Friday morning, several hours of freezing rain and some sleet are expected, which may glaze exposed surfaces. Bridges, overpasses, elevated surfaces or areas that are not exposed to direct sunlight are particularly slippery. The storm will likely end with pure rain and drizzle Friday evening, but some locations may experience a brief period of wet snow before the storm moves away.

North of Charlotte, the colder air will likely persist as North Carolina and Southern Virginia experience a general and persistent zone of snow and ice, with widespread slippery and dangerous travel Friday through Saturday.

In the Carolina Piedmont, so much freezing rain can accumulate on trees and power lines that the risk of power outages increases.

The storm will also spread some snow accumulation further north into the Mid-Atlantic, central Appalachians and parts of New England this weekend.

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