The first big winter storm of the 2024-2025 winter is building in Oklahoma as I write this on Saturday night. This storm is expected to move west to east across the eastern half of the US over the next two days, bringing areas of freezing rain and snow to parts of the Mid-Atlantic and the Ohio River Valley. In the Southeast we are expecting to see mainly rain except in Virginia and at higher elevations of the Southern Appalachians. Some of the rain could come from severe storms in Alabama and Georgia, but they should not be widespread. Most of southern Florida will stay dry through the week. In Virginia, snow or other wintry weather like sleet or freezing rain is expected since they will be close to the center of the storm with colder air and plenty of moisture in place. You can read a good write-up of this storm from Dr. Marshall Shepherd of UGA at https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2025/01/04/what-to-expect-from-the-first-big-winter-storm-of-2025/.
After the storm passes, the northwest wind behind the center of circulation should bring colder and drier air to the region for the next few days, although the lowest values are somewhat higher than earlier models suggested. It will definitely be cold but not record-setting. The weather will get more interesting late in the week as a new storm develops along the Gulf Coast near Texas and moves east and then northeast through the region. Depending on the path and speed of the low pressure center, parts of the Southeast could see snow, sleet, freezing rain, or rain and thunderstorms late in the week. After that system moves on, more cold air is likely to pour into the region, leading to even colder temperatures than next week. Some locations may experience daytime temperatures that do not reach above freezing for a day or two, hence the warnings about pipes freezing and taking care of livestock, but again, the worst case does not seem to be likely to occur. Since this is more than a week away, the models are still quite variable from one run to another and between different models, so we won’t be able to say much more concrete about this storm and the following cold weather until later in the week. I will post more information in the next few days as the current developing storm moves by and clarifies what we will see later in the week.
