Winter storm to bring snow, ice to OBX, Norfolk

AccuWeather reports a rapidly developing storm will spread a swath of snow, ice and slippery travel along the southeastern coast of the United States during Wednesday and Wednesday night.

Precipitation from the storm will tend to hug the coast.

However, the vast majority of that precipitation will fall in the form of snow, ice or a wintry mix from northeastern Florida to southeastern Virginia.

From near Statesboro, Georgia, to Florence, South Carolina; Fayetteville and Greenville, North Carolina; and Norfolk, Virginia, mostly snow is forecast to fall. Near this zone, a narrow swath of several inches of snow are in store with a sharp northwestern edge, where little to no snow is likely. This sharp cutoff of snow may be near Raleigh, North Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia.

Areas from Lake City, Florida, and near Jacksonville, Florida, to Savannah, Georgia, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, can expect a wintry mix.

Everything from snow to sleet, freezing rain and plain rain may fall in this coastal zone. Enough frozen precipitation is forecast in this swath to make roads slippery. Ice may accrue on some trees, power lines and other elevated surfaces. Motorists should be especially careful when traveling over bridges.

No snow is forecast at the major hubs of Atlanta, New Orleans, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Orlando, Florida.

As the storm moves northward along the Atlantic coast, bombogenesis will occur and a major blizzard will hit parts of New England and New Brunswick, Canada, late in the week.

Winds will increase around the strengthening storm as a new surge of arctic air presses southward over the eastern half of the nation.

This arctic surge will bring freezing air to central Florida and blustery and cold conditions as far south as South Florida, the Keys and Bahamas into this weekend.

The new cold wave from Thursday to Saturday may eclipse the frigid levels of early this week across much of the Southeast. Temperatures will plunge into the teens and 20s F at night. At this level, the risk of pipes freezing and water mains rupturing will continue.

By Alex Sosnowski, Senior Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com