Winter Storm Threatens Swath From Deep South to New England

As chilly air brought a rare blanket of snow to parts of southern Texas on Friday, the threat of winter weather heightens from the Mid-Atlantic to New England throughout the weekend.

The National Weather Service predicts that a pair of weather systems will likely produce the season's first accumulating snow for some areas along the East Coast on Saturday or Sunday. A separate systems may also carry the first snow to parts of the Midwest.

Parts of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi have already reported snow flurries in the early hours of Friday. USA Today reports that nearly two dozen schools in Georgia closed ahead of the wintry conditions.

"It's the first snow of the season and any time you even mention snow in the South, you're going to get people a little panicky," David Nadler, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's office south of Atlanta, told USA Today.

But those areas who don't often experience accumulating snow may have reason to express caution. The National Weather service has issued winter weather advisories for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas. Forecasters predict these areas could see a half inch to an inch of snow by Friday night.

Meanwhile, the second weather system moving across the Midwest could produce patchy snow with a chance of small accumulation in parts of the interior Northeast, according to AccuWeather.

"This clipper storm has the potential to bring a few hours of steady snow and slippery travel to parts of the Ohio Valley and the central Appalachians later Saturday and Saturday night," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Ken Clark said.

The extent of those conditions depends on whether the northern and southern storms merge, as well as how much moisture those storms carry as them move toward the Atlantic Ocean.

"It may be a close call with accumulating snow versus melting snow from New York City to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Houk explained. "New York City will have a better chance at an inch or two accumulation, since some of the snow will fall during Saturday night."