With arctic air still locked in place across the East, the next winter storm is poised to bring a treacherous mix of snow, sleet, ice and freezing rain to the South and possibly the Mid-Atlantic, which once again could potentially disrupt travel and daily life for millions of people in the coming days.

The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings across northern Texas, southeast Oklahoma and Arkansas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth and Little Rock, Ark. areas. Additional winter storm watches cover an area from northern Texas to Tennessee and Kentucky, including northern parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Forecasters warned of hazardous travel conditions and potential disruptions to daily life in these areas.

The storm is arriving just days after the first major winter storm of the year disrupted life in the Midwest and the Mid-Atlantic, delaying or canceling more than 9,000 flights, causing accidents resulting in at least three deaths, and leaving more than 200,000 customers without power amid states of emergencies in several areas.

This winter storm is expected to begin on Wednesday along the Gulf Coast before moving northeast in an elongated path from Texas to the Carolinas, bringing a mix of snow, sleet, ice and freezing rain.
What to expect: Snow, ice and freezing rain
The first signs of winter weather will arrive on Wednesday night, with light snow developing over western Texas, moving into Dallas by Thursday morning. The true impact is set to unfold Thursday into Friday, as a more potent system strengthens along the Gulf Coast and combines with arctic air spilling southward.The exact path the storm takes out of the Gulf of Mexico will have a direct impact on what type of winter precipitation falls and where.

Heavy snow is anticipated through Thursday in north-central and northeast Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The Fort Worth office of the Weather Service predicts areas in northern Texas may receive isolated totals in excess of eight inches, but more widely two to four is expected and only light snow for central Texas. Similar totals are forecast for southeastern Oklahoma, where some areas could see up to six inches of snow by Friday.

Arkansas is also in the storm’s path, with central parts of the state, just south of the Interstate 40, is forecast to receive the highest snowfall amounts at up to eight inches from Friday into the weekend.

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Heavy amounts of snowfall are also likely for northern Mississippi, northern Alabama, northern Georgia, Tennessee and the far west of North Carolina, with up to six inches possible.

A wintry mix of freezing rain,sleet and ice are also forecast, from central Texas, the north of Louisiana and central parts of Mississippi and Alabama, creating a patchwork of wintry conditions, though specific amounts are hard to pinpoint this far in advance, Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center, said on Tuesday.

“There’s still some uncertainty once you get east of Mississippi,” he said.

In Georgia, where a winter storm watch is in effect from Friday, the precise precipitation type is still uncertain Forecasters are also concerned the storm may take a more southern track, producing large totals of snow in the north, where up to six inches or more was forecast, but also bringing a mix of sleet, snow and freezing rain to the Atlanta metro area and around the Interstate 20 corridor, from northern Louisiana to Georgia and South Carolina.

From Friday, the storm is also forecast to bring snowfall to areas of Tennessee, Kentucky, the north of Mississippi and Alabama and into North Carolina and possibly South Carolina. According to Tennessee’s current Weather Service forecast, the south may potentially accumulate more than six inches of snow. Mr. Mullinax said that if Memphis exceeds six inches, it will be the first time in almost 40 years that the city has had a two-day snow total greater than that.

Into Friday night, the storm is likely to bring snow to the Mid-Atlantic, as well as some light sleet or freezing rain across eastern North Carolina. By Saturday afternoon the storm will have mostly cleared into the Atlantic.

Travel hazards and disruption
The Weather Service cautioned that areas in the path of the storm are likely to face travel disruptions and hazards from the wintry weather. On Thursday roads in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Dallas Fort Worth, Little Rock and the Texas Hill Country may be treacherous.

Wintry travel conditions are likely to affect other metro areas on Friday too, including Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Huntsville, Little Rock, Memphis and Nashville.

Saturday is likely to see less snowfall, yet travel may still be challenging from snow on the ground and ice, from northern Georgia to parts of South Carolina and North Carolina.

While some snow amounts remain uncertain, forecasters at the Weather Service said major impacts from the winter storm were likely to be greatest from portions of North Texas into southeastern Oklahoma,central Arkansas and into northern Mississippi and southern Tennessee.

“With the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex averaging just 1.8 inches of snow per season, this storm could be a rare and disruptive event,” Mr. Mullinax said.

It is likely that other places recently hit by this weekend’s snowstorm could face the potential for another round of winter weather in the Mid-Atlantic. Forecasters said they had increasing confidence that a light snowfall accumulations across the Mid-Atlantic, leading to light accumulations for areas.