AccuWeather.com reports a bit of snow and slippery spots will precede a cold weekend for the Ohio and Tennessee valleys as well as other areas in the South.
The early stages of a developing storm along the Atlantic coast this weekend will tiptoe through part of the Midwest, interior South and central Appalachians Friday into Saturday in the form of spotty snow, snow showers and mixed snow and rain showers.
In most areas, the snow will not accumulate during the day Friday. However, for those who have not seen much in the way of snow this winter, it could get interesting for a time.
However, where the snow showers occur from Friday evening into Saturday, as colder air moves in and road surface temperatures cool, there can be a small slushy accumulation, especially on some bridges and overpasses.
The region is most likely to get a small accumulation Friday night, but snow showers will spread farther to the east during the day Saturday and will organize into an area of steady, accumulating snow Saturday afternoon and evening over eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia.
Over the hilly areas from southeastern Kentucky and eastern Tennessee through the heart of the central and southern Appalachians Friday night into the first part of Saturday, there could be a couple of inches of snow, where the snow showers persist.
However, the risk of accumulating snow will not stop at the spine of the Appalachians.
As Saturday progresses, the storm will begin to organize along the Atlantic Seaboard. The same storm will evolve into a blizzard over portions of Maine and neighboring Canada Saturday night into Sunday.
Snow showers are likely to continue over the central and southern Appalachians Saturday afternoon.
How quickly the storm strengthens off the Virginia Capes will determine how much snow falls from eastern North Carolina to the Delmarva Peninsula. If the storm develops rapidly, there could be several inches of wet snow in this area Saturday afternoon and evening.
While the air coming in this weekend will not be the coldest of the winter around the Midwest, it will have a little bite with some wind adding to the chill.
Farther south, along the Gulf Coast to Florida, where skies become clear and winds diminish at night, temperatures could dip to their lowest levels of the season with the potential for a frost and freeze.
As the disabled cruise ship reaches the northern Gulf and passengers spend some time in the area, much colder air will be moving in.