Driving to Florida, Texas, Southeast? There’s another snowstorm and ice storm in the way

If you are dreaming of a warmer location and trying to get there this weekend, you may want to re-think your driving days. Another major winter storm is going to track from Texas across the Deep South, and the Southeast. Many of the major interstates we use to get from cold, cloudy Michigan to warm sunshine will have a zone of either heavy snow or accumulating freezing rain.

The forecast shows the storm forming over Texas Thursday and moving through Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee Friday. The winter part of the storm will move through the Carolinas Saturday.

The swath of heavy snow should be six inches or more through northeast Texas, southeast Oklahoma, a large part of Arkansas, northern Mississippi, northern Alabama and Tennessee. Even northern Georgia could have four inches of snow.

Kentucky and the Carolinas will still have a fairly significant snow for that part of the country, getting two to four inches of snow.

As is usually the case with winter storms, just south of the snowstorm stripe will be an “ice storm” stripe. Northeast Texas, northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas will have ice accumulations up to one-half inch. Regardless of the actual accumulation of ice, there will be a significant stretch of icy roads to pass through if you are driving south.

So what is the timing that you should use to drive south? If you are trying to get to Texas you would have needed to be on the road already. Thursday will be the nasty weather day there. I guess if you leave Wednesday morning and keep driving to south of Austin, TX by Thursday morning you will miss a nasty Texas snowstorm. Otherwise the Texas drive could be okay late Friday as temperatures warm just above freezing.

You want to be through Arkansas by Thursday evening. If not, you face a heavy, wet snow up to 10 inches Thursday night and Friday.

If you are driving down I-75 to get to Florida, you will have no problems once you are just south of Atlanta. You will want to be south of Atlanta by noon Friday. If your plan is to drive through Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia Friday afternoon and Friday night, you will have a dangerous drive.

The snow and ice will move into the Carolinas Friday night and Saturday.

My suggestion on the drive to Florida- leave Michigan early Thursday morning and make it at least to southern Tennessee before staying the night. Chattanooga, TN would be a good destination goal for Thursday evening. Get up very early Friday morning and get to Macon, GA by noon Friday.

If you use this timeline you will make it to the warmer sunshine just fine.