Snow and sleet blanketed parts of northern Texas, Oklahoma and western Arkansas on Thursday as forecasters warned that “heavy snow and disruptive ice” would pile up across the South through the end of the week.

On Thursday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport where over 1,400 flights scheduled for Thursday were canceled, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website. More than 200 flights were canceled at Dallas Love Field Airport.

In Georgia, the National Weather Service elevated their forecast and issued a winter storm warning for the northern half of the state, including Atlanta. Forecasters expect freezing rain along the I-20 corridor and up to three inches of snow starting early Friday morning, potentially making it nearly impossible to travel and causing power outages.

From the southern plains of Texas and Oklahoma to the Carolina coastal plains, much of this winter precipitation is forecast to fall on places where people are less accustomed to winter weather, and it is likely to cause hazardous driving conditions, power outages and school closures.

Key things to know
In the Southern United States, it doesn’t take huge amounts of snow or ice to disrupt everyday life.

Over a half foot of heavy snow is expected to create dangerous travel conditions along and south of Interstate 40 across Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Farther south, along and just north of Interstate 20 from Texas to Georgia, snow is likely to change to sleet and freezing rain as warmer air noses in above the freezing temperatures at the surface.

The region will continue to see cooler temperatures into next week, prolonging the likelihood of hazardous travel conditions.

By Thursday afternoon, snow had covered northern Texas and shifted into Oklahoma as the storm began to take shape in the Gulf of Mexico before an expected shift to the northeast. The heavier snow is likely to remain in northern Texas and into Oklahoma. The most likely snowfall totals in Texas will be between two and four inches, mainly along and north of I-20, in an area that averages less than two inches per season.Anticipating the potential effects, Dallas schools will be closed on Thursday and Friday. Gov. Greg Abbott used a news conference on Wednesday to warn drivers: “Be careful. Be cautious.”

“We’re not used to driving on ice and snow,” he said to his fellow Texans. “We’re not used to driving in conditions like this.”

In the midst of battling the winter weather, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas also delegated emergency resources on Thursday to east and southeast Texas ahead of heavy rainfall and potential flooding.

Snow moved into central and eastern Oklahoma by Thursday afternoon, shutting down college campuses early and government buildings, including all tribal-run offices in the Choctaw Nation in the eastern part of the state.

Editors’ Picks
Is ‘Reef Safe’ Sunscreen Really Better?
Help! How Do I Make Sense of All These Trends?
How to Manage Your Blood Sugar With Exercise
The snow and ice moved into Arkansas in the evening on Thursday. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency as the storm entered the state, directing the state’s National Guard to respond to drivers in emergencies. Highways in western Arkansas were covered by 2 p.m. with some accidents blocking traffic on Interstate 40 and Highway 7.

As the storm crosses the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday into Friday, any slight change in its path could result in precipitation that differs from the forecast in a given area. A slightly more northern track would shift the heavier snow farther north and lift the line of freezing rain and sleet. A more southern track would do the opposite, bringing the heavier snow deeper into the South and leaving the northern areas dry.Winter precipitation is expected across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas from Thursday night into Friday. By early Friday morning, it will have surged farther east across Tennessee, northern Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee issued a state of emergency on Thursday afternoon ahead of the worst of the storm heading toward the state. While Tennessee is no stranger to winter storms, some areas, like Memphis, could receive their largest two-day snow total in 40 years. Parts of the state are still recovering from Tropical Storm Helene, which moved through the state in September.

Forecasters in Nashville reminded locals not to become hung up on the precise amounts, as any snow could cause hazardous travel in the region. In Atlanta, it has been nearly 11 years since a small snowstorm, locally referred to as snowmageddon, shut down the city and became a punchline for a “Saturday Night Live” skit.

While snow has fallen in the city since then, it may still catch people off guard as the type of precipitation changes through the day. What is expected to start as snow Friday morning is likely to turn to sleet and then freezing rain across the Atlanta metropolitan area, turning untreated roads into ice skating rinks by the evening hours.

Gov. Brian P. Kemp of Georgia declared a state of emergency on Thursday because of the forecast and said it would be in place through Tuesday. The governor asked residents to avoid travel as much as possible in the next few days. “Hazardous conditions, including ice and snow, can develop quickly and make travel very dangerous,” he said in a statement.

Across North Carolina, a similar scenario will begin to unfold around midday Friday and last overnight into Saturday. Accumulations of up to two inches are currently expected in the Mid-Atlantic area east of the Allegheny Mountains.The storm is then expected to move off the coast, where it will strengthen but remain far enough away to avoid being a major hazard for the Northeast.

Abnormal cold across the East Coast is expected to continue into next week, allowing for some snow to stick around. And where the snow has melted during the day, it may refreeze at night, creating ongoing transportation hazards.