- The heaviest snow – as much as two inches per hour – is expected overnight and into Friday morning
- Over 5,000 flights were canceled and thousands of customers were already without power early Thursday.
- The storm has already dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of the Midwest
A massive winter storm took aim at the Northeast on Thursday evening after the weather system canceled thousands of flights, knocked out power in parts of six states and spawned what was being called a deadly tornado in Alabama.
A foot or more of snow could fall by Saturday morning across a swath of the Northeast from Maine to portions of western Pennsylvania, according to the National Weather Service. Farther south, a band of ice accumulation is expected to stretch more than 1,000 miles from New England to west of Tennessee.
The heaviest snow – as much as two inches per hour – is expected overnight and into Friday morning, the Weather Service said.
Forecasters also warned of strong thunderstorms along the storm's warmer side in Mississippi and Alabama.
In western Alabama, a tornado that hit a rural area Thursday afternoon killed one person, a female he found under rubble, and critically injured three others, Hale County Emergency Management Director Russell Weeden told WBRC-TV.
More than 5,000 flights were canceled Thursday, according to the tracker Flightaware.com. More than 250,000 customers in Texas, Arkansas, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee lost power, according to Poweroutage.us.
The storm has already dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of the Midwest, even bringing rare measurable snowfall to parts of Texas.
"It is a slow-moving storm," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dan Pydynowski told USA TODAY. "Such a long duration storm not only makes travel difficult over a long period of time, but it also allows the freezing rain to accumulate up to around 1 inch in some areas, which can cause power outages."
GROUNDHOG DAY:Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, meaning we're in for 6 more weeks of winter
Texas gets ice, snow; Oklahoma City breaks Groundhog Day snow record
In Dallas, up to a quarter of an inch of ice and 3 inches of sleet and snow were expected, the weather service said. Much of northern Texas to the border with Oklahoma could see 1 to 3 inches of snow, forecasts said.
Farther south, Austin could see up to a quarter-inch of ice accumulation, and San Antonio could get up to a tenth of an inch.
Gov. Greg Abbott urged Texans to stay off the roads and said the state's power system would be able to handle the freeze. Last year, prolonged winter weather knocked out electricity for millions.
Oklahoma City broke its Groundhog Day snowfall record Wednesday with 3 inches of snow, according to Accuweather.
The weather service office in Norman, Oklahoma, forecast an additional 3 inches of snow for Oklahoma City on Thursday, and surrounding regions could get 4 to 6 inches.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt declared a state of emergency Tuesday before the winter weather.
Ice raises concerns in South; 'dual hazards' in Tennessee
Ice storm warnings were in effect for areas in eastern Arkansas and Missouri, western Kentucky and Tennessee and northern Mississippi.
"Significant icing is expected" for much of central Kentucky, according to the forecast office in Louisville. Some areas could get more than half an inch.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency Wednesday, and many schools in the state canceled classes or announced plans for remote learning.
"If everything holds right now, this is the real deal," Beshear said Wednesday. "It is dangerous. People need to be prepared, especially to stay off the roads tomorrow and potentially be ready to deal with this emergency for the next several days."
Ice began accumulating Thursday in parts of West Tennessee, including Memphis, causing power outages and dangerous road conditions during the morning commute. Memphis could see half to three-quarters of an inch of ice by the time the storm winds down Friday.
In Middle Tennessee, flooding and freezing rain were expected to be "dual hazards," according to the Nashville Weather Service office.
"In areas that see over a quarter inch of ice, that is when concerns start to grow about power outages as the weight of the ice weighs down power lines and tree limbs," Pydynowski, with AccuWeather, said.
SLEET VS. FREEZING RAIN:What's the difference?
HOW TO DRIVE IN SNOW? Hint: Steer into the skid
Heavy snow in Midwest, Northeast
In the Midwest and Northeast, the cities that could see half a foot to more than a foot of snow included Indianapolis; St. Louis; Cleveland; Rochester, New York; Burlington, Vermont; and Augusta, Maine.
The storm on Wednesday brought more than a foot of snow to areas in Illinois and Missouri. In central Missouri, officials shut down part of Interstate 70. Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson declared states of emergency Tuesday.
Swaths of Ohio and central Indiana could see 3 to 12 inches of snow while northern Indiana could expect up to 18 inches, weather service offices forecast. The snowfall led to several car crashes throughout central Indiana on Thursday morning.
Pittsburgh was forecast to get 1 to 2 inches, while other areas in northwestern Pennsylvania could see up to 8 inches, according to the weather service office there.
In northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, up to 18 inches were forecast, according to weather service offices.
"It's not going to be a heavy snow event with high snowfall rates," meteorologist David Thomas said of the storm in western New York. "This is a prolonged, gentle snow that will be more manageable, though roads will be snow-covered."
Contributing: Krista Johnson and Ayana Archie, Louisville Courier Journal; Rachel Wegner, The (Nashville) Tennessean; Victoria E. Freile, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle; Sarah Nelson, Indianapolis Star; The Associated Press
WHAT IS WIND CHILL? Understanding the wind chill index and how it's calculated
