AccuWeather reports ice will make for slick travel across portions of North Carolina and Virginia with snow on the northern fringe by the middle of the week.
Freezing rain and drizzle are forecast to begin over North Carolina, southern Virginia and upstate South Carolina on Tuesday night before advancing northward by Wednesday morning, reaching into parts of Maryland and the Delmarva Peninsula.
Motorists and pedestrians should take extra caution during
Tuesday night into
Wednesday due to icy conditions in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Fayetteville and Asheville, N.C., as well as in Richmond, Roanoke and Charlottesville, Va.
A bit of ice can occur as far south as Greenville, S.C.
People traveling along Interstate 95 between Richmond and Washington, D.C., should anticipate delays and hazardous conditions in some areas. The same is true along I-85 from Greenville to Petersburg, Va., I-77 from Charlotte to Wytheville, Va., and I-81 from Wytheville to Lexington, Va.
A cold rain will fall in Columbia, S.C., to coastal North Carolina and Norfolk, Va., on south.
"Motorists and pedestrians are urged to travel with caution as surfaces that may appear wet may, in fact, be icy," said AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
Bridges, overpasses and other elevated surfaces will be the first to turn icy.
Fortunately, this is not expected to become a major ice storm as any ice accumulation should not be significant enough to bring down tree limbs or cause widespread power outages.
As the moisture expands northward, it will transition to a bit of snow or a wintry mix on the northern edge of the ice in northern Virginia to central Maryland, De., and part of southern New Jersey.
This could make the Wednesday morning commute the worst time to travel around Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Dover, De. However, a distance of 50 miles from south to north will likely mark the difference between slippery roads and dry conditions centered near this swath.
Deicing of aircraft and slippery runways could lead to flight delays and cancellations on Wednesday, before conditions improve late in the day.
Even in areas to the south where it is not cold enough for there to be freezing drizzle, fog and low clouds can still cause flight delays. This could affect the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, one of the largest airports in the country.
Dry weather forecast to return to much of the region by Thursday, making for much more favorable travel conditions.
The exception to this will be a few showers passing over the Southeast; however, impacts should be minimal as temperatures will be well above freezing.