Power outages increase across north Georgia as snow moves into metro Atlanta

A snow plow clears Main St. on January 16, 2022 in Greenville, South Carolina. Snow, sleet and freezing rain are expected in the area for the remainder of the day. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

A major winter storm that is already dropping snow and freezing rain on the Southern U.S. will send temperatures plunging, cause hazardous road conditions and power outages and move up the East Coast in the coming hours.

The major system could leave more than a foot of snow and in excess of a quarter inch of ice in some areas, the National Weather Service warned.

Snowfall and freezing rain began before sunrise in areas of North Carolina. Parts of Georgia began to see freezing rain and wind gusts early Sunday. States that don’t typically experience such severe winter weather — such as Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi — also were seeing heavy snow and ice.