CNN
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Snow, freezing rain and rain will hit the Southern Plains on Thursday as a powerful winter storm strengthens and begins its trek across the South.

The storm’s impact will only grow as it brings disruptive weather across a nearly 1,400-mile stretch of the south through the weekend, bringing with it the coldest air of the season, threatening severe to extreme impacts across a poorly adapted region to winter weather.

Wintry precipitation began in parts of West and North Texas early Thursday morning, spreading to North Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas by the afternoon, while heavy rains developed further south.

Governors and officials in Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia and North Carolina have declared states of emergency and dozens of counties in Oklahoma and Alabama as state officials prepare for the storm’s impact.

By morning, snow was accumulating across northern Texas and southern Oklahoma. By early afternoon, an area north of the Dallas-Ft. at least 10 cm of snow fell. Worth metroplex and across the southern Oklahoma border. One to two centimeters of snow fell north of Oklahoma City.

The bad weather made travel treacherous and there were multiple reports of broken tractor trailers and stuck cars in both northern Texas and southern Oklahoma. All southbound lanes of Interstate 35 in southern Oklahoma became a parking lot near Davis after a crash closed them.

It also caused problems for the major travel hub of Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport. According to FlightAware, more than 2,000 flights in and out of the U.S. had been canceled as of Thursday afternoon, with Dallas-area airports accounting for nearly 40% of those cancellations.

The Dallas Independent School District — the second largest in Texas — announced the closure of all schools and offices Thursday and Friday because of the storm, according to its website. Schools are also closed in the nearby Plano Independent School District.

Cold temperatures will increase electricity demand in Texas, but grid conditions are expected to be normal, ERCOT – the operator responsible for the state’s power grid – said in a weather watch issued Wednesday. During 2021’s devastating winter storm and prolonged freeze, the state’s power grid failed, causing the deaths of more than 200 people.

Snow, sleet and freezing rain will spread across more of the southern Plains and into the Mississippi Valley by Thursday night.

The Little Rock School District in Arkansas also closed all schools and offices on Thursday and Friday. Snow will fall across the city in the early afternoon before periods of sleet and rain mix overnight, creating hazardous travel conditions.

Any amount of ice is dangerous; Just a thin layer — even a tenth of an inch — can turn paved surfaces into ice rinks, causing people to slip and vehicles to spin out of control, as happened in the central U.S. over the weekend. Ice can also stress power lines and cause outages.

According to the Winter Storm Severity Index, parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas are expected to experience at least moderate impacts from the storm given the threat of snow and ice. In some areas, this storm could have severe or even extreme impacts, causing significant disruption to daily life and dangerous travel conditions.

The storm continues to move east Thursday evening and Friday, bringing messy winter weather to much of the South. Small shifts in track are still possible and could alter snow and ice results.

Snow amounts will be highest from far northeast Texas and southeast Oklahoma into Tennessee and parts of the southern Appalachians. Several inches of snow could fall across this area, eclipsing half a foot of snow in places, particularly in central Arkansas.

Northern Mississippi and far northern Alabama and Georgia could see 3 inches or more of snow Thursday night through Friday night. Some of these areas could initially see snow, but turn into an icy mix as warmer air moves into the area.

This will likely be the case in Atlanta, which hasn’t had even an inch of snow in nearly seven years but has a slim chance of it with this storm. Precipitation will begin with a brief snowfall early Friday morning, but will quickly mix with sleet and freezing rain. This icy tangle of precipitation will continue into the overnight hours, with rain mixing in at times.

“Plan for hazardous travel conditions,” the National Weather Service office that serves Atlanta warned Thursday, noting that travel could become difficult or impossible from Friday into Saturday.

According to a news release Wednesday, all city of Atlanta government offices will remain closed Friday and the city has opened several warming centers. The city also began pre-treating roads Thursday in advance of the storm. Several school districts in the Atlanta area will remain closed Friday.

Precipitation will quickly expand eastward Friday evening as the storm approaches the Atlantic coast and a mix of snow and ice will reach the Carolinas. Charlotte, North Carolina, hasn’t recorded any measurable snow — at least 0.1 inches — in nearly two years, but the snow drought will likely end this weekend.

A separate storm moving south from Canada late Friday will join the southern storm in pulling moisture north and spreading precipitation to much of the Midwest and East.

A rapid snowfall totaling 1 to 3 inches or less is possible from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Friday night into early Saturday morning. The storm will quickly exit the U.S. Saturday morning, leaving behind gusty winds, particularly in the Northeast.

CNN’s Alexandra Skores contributed to this report.