Major southern winter storm anticipated this weekend: How this impacts highway and flight journey

ORLANDO, Fla. – If you’re heading out of Orlando this weekend by automotive or aircraft, that is a kind of conditions the place a little bit planning now can prevent a serious headache later. 

While Florida stays on the nice and cozy facet with highs close to 80° Saturday and 70s Sunday, a probably vital winter storm is setting as much as disrupt journey throughout a lot of the Southeast late Saturday into Sunday. Impacts may linger into Monday.

The map above tells the story clearly: blue is snow, pink is ice, and inexperienced is rain. Those colours matter in case you’re touring north as a result of they mark the road between satisfactory roads and locations the place journey might turn into extraordinarily troublesome or unattainable.

Road Travel: Conditions Change Fast

What To Expect:

A protracted length system is arriving from the west. 

What does this imply? 

Rain will transition to wintry climate late Saturday, with icy circumstances increasing by means of Sunday and Sunday evening earlier than the storm pushes into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast Monday.

If you’re driving north on I-75, circumstances might deteriorate quickly when you attain southern Georgia, roughly close to and north of Tifton. Roads can go from moist to icy in a brief distance. 

Along I-95, freezing rain turns into a priority across the Savannah space and worsens farther north into the Carolinas. Ice would be the major challenge right here, particularly on bridges, overpasses, and elevated roadways. 

Farther north into Tennessee and Kentucky, snow turns into the dominant precipitation sort. Some areas may see 12 to 18 inches of snow in a slender hall simply north of the ice zone, with quantities tapering farther north.

Along I-95, freezing rain dominates the Carolinas earlier than transitioning to snow from Virginia northward, with comparable accumulation potential. For long-haul truckers or highway trippers, Sunday evening into Monday seems to be essentially the most harmful journey window, when giant parts of the southeast and mid-Atlantic may see journey grind to a halt.

Flying: Expect Delays and Cancellations

If you’re flying out of Orlando on Sunday and Monday, or probably by means of Tuesday, the climate in Central Florida received’t be the problem. However, your vacation spot or connection is likely to be. 

Major hubs, together with Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Memphis, Louisville, Raleigh, Durham, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and New York are all within the zone for snow or ice.

Ice is particularly disruptive for aviation, and southern airports have restricted tools and expertise dealing with vital winter climate.

Sunday and Monday are the very best threat days for flight delays and cancellations, notably for early morning departures and connecting flights by means of Southern hubs. Even after the storm clears, lingering energy outages are attainable if ice accumulations attain one to 3 inches, which may carry down bushes and energy traces and complicate journey time restoration.

What’s the underside line?

This is just not the winter storm to chase with the household to “see snow.”

You’ll first encounter freezing rain and ice in Georgia earlier than ever reaching the snow zone farther north. That ice could make roads extraordinarily slick, result in crashes, and shut down highways completely.

A visit that usually takes 9 hours may simply double in length, turning into an extended and probably harmful drive.

Meanwhile, Florida stays heat and primarily dry. Many individuals right here will solely hear about this storm on the information whereas having fun with spring-like climate. But when you head north, winter returns in a critical method, and impacts can lengthen properly past the place snow truly falls.

If you may journey earlier than late Saturday, or wait till midweek subsequent week, you’ll keep away from many of the issues. This is the type of storm the place preparation issues, and native residents within the affected areas might be stocking up and planning to remain put.

What’s subsequent:

The FOX 35 Storm Team will proceed monitoring this method intently and preserve you up to date as confidence will increase.

WeatherWinter Weather