Weather
This forecast was created at 5:30 p.m. PST on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
This storm is lining up as a sprawling, long-duration winter hit from the Southern Plains through New England. The setup is a strong Arctic air mass already in place, with a low tracking along its southern edge, pulling in enough moisture to generate heavy precipitation over a large area. The storm is expected to track from the Southern High Plains on Friday, across the Mid-South and Ohio Valley on Saturday, then through the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Sunday. The cold side of the system supports heavy snowfall approaching a foot with locally higher amounts possible, while the warm side favors sleet and freezing rain from Texas into parts of the Mid-South, the Carolinas, and the Virginia Piedmont. Arctic air and gusty winds also expand eastward, so the cold lingers and wind chills could turn dangerous, especially if ice-driven power outages occur.
Below is a region-by-region breakdown.
Southern Plains and Texas
Texas sits near the southern edge of the snow shield, so the most disruptive impacts come from ice and sleet. In the Panhandle, the signal stays colder and cleaner, and Amarillo-area totals in the 4 to 8 inch range remain on the table. Farther east, the Dallas-Fort Worth region leans into a glaze-and-sleet event, with ice of roughly 0.25 to 0.5 inches of ice possible and sleet totals of 2 to 5 inches from around I-20 northward. Around Austin and San Antonio, ice remains in play, around 0.1 to 0.25 inches, with pockets up to a half inch possible. Temperatures plunge behind the storm, so any ice that forms holds on and keeps travel slow even after the last flakes (or pellets!) fall.
Oklahoma, Arkansas, and the Lower Mississippi Valley
Across Oklahoma into Arkansas, the storm transitions toward heavier snow on the north side while still carrying a sharp ice stripe near the changeover. Northern and central Oklahoma, including the Oklahoma City metro, sit in a zone where 8 inches or more of snow is favored, and the corridor between I-35 and US-75 carries the better odds for 0.1 to 0.25 inches of ice. In Arkansas, northern sections have potential for 4 to 10 inches of snow and sleet, while the Little Rock area trends more sleet-heavy (roughly 1 to 4 inches). The far south and southeast parts of the state have the highest ice risk, with sleet and ice around 0.25 up to 0.75 inches possible. Farther east, the Memphis area falls into a broad, heavy band of potential, with total snow and sleet in the 3 to 9 inch range and ice around two-tenths of an inch.
Tennessee and Kentucky
Middle Tennessee into Kentucky lies close enough to the transition zone that precipitation type varies even by county, yet the totals remain high either way. Around Nashville, heavy mixed precipitation is expected, with total snow and sleet between 2 and 8 inches and ice up to a quarter inch. Northward into Kentucky, the snow side expands, and totals jump sharply. Louisville and Lexington sit in the corridor where totals of 10 to 14 inches are likely. This is the kind of setup where one intense band can add several inches in a few hours.
Mid-Atlantic and the I-95 Corridor
The Mid-Atlantic looks like a classic big-city disruption setup because heavy snow arrives first, then sleet and freezing rain try to intrude from the south. In Washington, D.C., a heavy burst is expected Saturday night with 5 to 9 inches of snow possible, followed by another 2 to 4 inches of snow and sleet Sunday, then a transition toward freezing rain and sleet. Philadelphia currently sits on the colder side of the gradient, with a storm signal for 11 to 15 inches of snow and the possibility of ice up to 0.2 inches. A shift of the rain-sleet line by even a single county will change totals quickly along I-95, so watch for forecast updates through Saturday.
Northeast and New England
From New York City to Boston and into Maine, the forecast signal stays strong for widespread plowable snow, with the biggest uncertainty tied to how quickly mixing presses inland near the coast. The NYC metro area has potential for at least 6 to 12 inches, with amounts over 12 inches very possible, and some sleet or freezing rain may mix in for a time Sunday night, closer to the shoreline. Southern New England, including the Boston area, has the potential for 6 to 12 inches, with localized totals over 12 inches. In northern New England, the Portland area has a good shot for more than 6 inches, and the Bangor area has potential for 5 to 10 inches.
