The first winter storm of the new year is set to form this weekend, according to the National Weather Service, producing heavy snow, ice and potentially record-setting low temperatures in the midwest, south and east.

Temperatures are forecast to drop significantly in Washington, D.C. into next week. (Photo by Kent … [+] Nishimura/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

The storm, which the NWS said will produce “Arctic outbreaks,” is expected to first impact the Central Plains on Saturday, cover the Ohio and Tennessee valleys by Sunday and the Mid-Atlantic early next week.

Somewhere between 6 and 12 inches of snow is forecast to fall downwind of the Great Lakes, according to the NWS, which also forecast similar snowfall accumulations for the Central Appalachians and snow showers over the northern/central Rockies.

Significant sleet and freezing rain may potentially affect the Ozarks and extend to the Tennessee and lower Ohio valleys, as well as the southern Appalachians, the NWS said in a post Thursday.

“Frigid arctic air” is expected to blow through the central and eastern U.S. through the weekend as high pressure builds over the Great Plains.

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What States Will Be Most Impacted By The Winter Storm?

While the eastern half of the U.S. is expected to be engulfed in cold temperatures by next week, the NWS has forecast high chances of at least moderate snow impacts in northern Missouri, central Illinois, central Indiana, northeast Virginia and central Maryland. The NWS also forecast the greatest potential for significant icing in central Kansas, southern Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, most of Kentucky, southern West Virginia and western Virginia.

Surprising Fact

The cold temperatures accompanying the storm could produce the coldest January in the U.S. since 2011, according to AccuWeather expert Paul Pastelok, who noted the storm’s arctic outbreak will “involve many days and not just be a quick one-to-three-day event.”

Key Background

NOAA’s winter outlook issued in October predicted fair to likely chances for above average seasonal temperatures this winter in the southwest, south and eastern U.S. It also predicted wetter-than-average conditions for the northern half of the continental U.S. and drier-than-average conditions from much of the southwest to the southeast, Gulf Coast and lower Mid-Atlantic regions. The forecasts follow the warmest fall experienced in the U.S. in NOAA’s 130-year climate record, with the average fall temperature reaching 57.6 degrees Fahrenheit, which was 4.1 degrees above average.

Further Reading

U.S. Winter Outlook: Warmer and drier South, wetter North (NOAA)

Fall 2024 was nation’s warmest on record (NOAA)