Winter Storm ‘Gianna’ to Rapidly Intensify, Bringing Heavy Snow, High Winds and Coastal Flooding to the Southeast

A fast-intensifying winter storm is poised to hammer the Southeast and parts of the East Coast this weekend, threatening heavy snow, dangerous winds and coastal flooding in communities still recovering from last week’s deadly blast of Arctic weather.

A rapidly strengthening system offshore

Forecasters say the system, dubbed Winter Storm Gianna by The Weather Channel, will develop off the Southeast coast late Friday and rapidly strengthen as it tracks northeast through Sunday. The storm is expected to undergo “bombogenesis”—meteorologist shorthand for a pressure drop of at least 24 millibars in 24 hours—turning it into a powerful nor’easter over the western Atlantic.

The heaviest snow and strongest winds are forecast to hit a swath from northern Georgia through the Carolinas into southeast Virginia, an area far less accustomed to crippling winter storms than the urban Northeast that typically bears the brunt of such systems.

“This winter storm will intensify into a bomb cyclone, with snow, strong winds and coastal flooding from the nor'easter from the Carolinas to New England,” The Weather Channel said in an online forecast discussion this week.

Following close behind Winter Storm Fern

Gianna’s arrival comes less than a week after Winter Storm Fern, a sprawling system that buried parts of Texas to Maine in snow and ice, contributed to at least 115 deaths and knocked out power to more than a million customers at its peak. Many utilities, road crews and emergency managers along the East Coast have been operating in crisis mode for days and now face a second major test.

Snow is expected to break out Friday night across parts of the southern Appalachians and interior Southeast as the new low-pressure system organizes offshore. By Saturday, forecasters say, the storm will rapidly deepen as it moves along or just off the Carolina coast, spreading heavy snow and strong winds across much of North Carolina, northern South Carolina and portions of Georgia and Virginia.

Where the heaviest snow may fall

The Weather Channel said the “best chance of heavier snow” extends from the Smoky Mountains through central and eastern North Carolina and northern South Carolina, with some locations likely to top 5 inches, and higher amounts possible near the North Carolina coast and Outer Banks.

Farther south, a winter storm watch covers parts of north Georgia, where CBS affiliate WGCL in Atlanta reported that snow is possible in the metro area from late Friday into Saturday—an especially disruptive prospect for a city with limited plowing equipment.

Along the Mid-Atlantic coast, the National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings for much of northeast North Carolina and the Hampton Roads region of southeast Virginia. Norfolk-based station WTKR reported that forecasters expect 2 to 4 inches of snow on the Virginia Southside, with 4 to 8 inches possible across northeast North Carolina and the Outer Banks, where colder air and Atlantic moisture are likely to overlap the longest.

“Snow will build in Saturday morning and pick up through the day. Snow will move out Sunday morning to midday,” WTKR’s meteorologists said in a live blog, warning that some mixing with rain is possible for the southern Outer Banks.

Wind, blizzard criteria, and coastal impacts

The storm’s wind field may prove just as disruptive as its snow. The Weather Channel projected that wind gusts could reach 70 mph along parts of the North Carolina and southeast Virginia coasts as Gianna bombs out offshore, flirting with hurricane strength. Those winds could drive ocean water inland and scour dunes already weakened by repeated coastal storms.

Local forecasters say conditions along parts of the Outer Banks and adjacent coastal areas could briefly meet the criteria for a blizzard—defined not by snowfall totals but by at least three consecutive hours of visibility at or below a quarter-mile in falling or blowing snow, accompanied by sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or higher.

“Blizzard conditions are anticipated but it doesn't mean what most people think,” WTKR’s weather team noted, emphasizing that the technical definition hinges on visibility and wind.

The National Weather Service and coastal stations are also warning of tidal flooding and beach erosion from North Carolina to New England, emphasizing that a full-moon phase will elevate normal high tides. Ocean overwash—waves and water pushing across dunes and onto roadways—is a particular concern for exposed stretches of the Outer Banks, where long, narrow barrier islands sit only a few feet above sea level in places.

Northeast outlook: more offshore, but still cold

Farther north, forecast models have trended toward a more offshore track, limiting the risk of a broad, corridor-wide snowstorm in the Mid-Atlantic and New England. Instead, lighter, wind-driven snow appears more likely for the Interstate 95 corridor from Washington to New York, with higher odds of plowable accumulations in southeastern Massachusetts (including Cape Cod and the islands) and parts of Downeast Maine late Sunday into Monday.

CBS New York reported only a chance of snow east of the city this weekend, with forecasters there stressing that persistent, dangerous cold will remain the primary concern in the region.

Why modest snow can be crippling in the South

For residents of the Southeast and lower Mid-Atlantic, even relatively modest snow totals can be crippling when combined with ice and high winds. Many cities and counties in Georgia and the Carolinas maintain far fewer plows, salt spreaders and trained operators than their northern counterparts, and power lines in older neighborhoods often run overhead through mature trees.

That combination already proved catastrophic in parts of the South during Winter Storm Fern. The Jan. 22–27 storm brought what the National Weather Service described as heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain “to hundreds of millions,” with ice accumulations exceeding an inch in parts of Mississippi and Alabama. The weight of the ice snapped trees and power lines, leaving hundreds of thousands in the dark and cold for days.

As of late this week, utilities in several states were still completing repairs on damaged lines and transformers. Emergency managers warn that Gianna’s heavy, wet snow and severe gusts could bring down freshly trimmed branches or weakened poles, triggering new outages even where service has recently been restored.

Weather.com cautioned that from the Outer Banks to New England, the combination of wind and heavy, wet snow could cause “power outages and some tree damage” as the storm sweeps up the coast.

Travel disruptions and safety warnings

The human toll from Fern went beyond accidents on icy roads. Local health and emergency officials across the country reported deaths from hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning in homes heated with generators or grills during outages, highlighting the lethal intersection of prolonged cold and fragile energy infrastructure.

NOAA has said that more than half of the U.S. population has been under extreme cold or winter weather alerts at some point during January, calling it a “dangerous” spell of winter weather and urging people to use caution with alternative heating sources.

The back-to-back storms have also strained the nation’s transportation network. Fern contributed to what flight-tracking services said was the worst day for U.S. flight cancellations since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 10,000 flights canceled on Jan. 25 alone and more than 20,000 wiped from schedules over several days.

With Gianna now targeting major hubs from Atlanta and Charlotte to Raleigh-Durham, Norfolk and Boston, airlines have begun pre-emptively canceling some weekend flights and waiving change fees.

On the ground, local television stations from Georgia to Virginia have shown long lines at hardware and home-improvement stores as residents search for salt, snow shovels, propane tanks and space heaters. Some stores in the Hampton Roads area reported running out of traditional de-icing products, with customers turning to alternatives such as pool salt.

Officials up and down the coast are urging people to finish preparations on Friday, avoid unnecessary travel during the height of the storm and check on neighbors who may be elderly, disabled or lack reliable heat.

The bigger picture—and what to watch next

Even as attention focuses on the immediate forecast, Gianna and Fern together are fueling broader questions about how well the United States is prepared for high-impact winter weather in a warming climate. Scientists note that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, increasing the potential for intense precipitation, while warmer ocean waters off the East Coast can help drive rapid cyclogenesis in coastal storms, even as average winter temperatures rise.

For now, forecasters caution that subtle shifts in Gianna’s track will determine how far inland and north the worst snow bands reach. The National Weather Service is urging residents from northern Georgia through the Carolinas and into coastal Virginia and southeastern New England to monitor updated local forecasts, watches and warnings as the storm develops.

By Sunday night, most of the snow is expected to have tapered off from Virginia southward, with lingering coastal flooding possible during high tides in parts of New England into Monday. For communities still digging out from Fern, however, the recovery clock could effectively reset.

From Atlanta neighborhoods unaccustomed to plow convoys, to the wind-lashed Outer Banks and the already eroding dunes of Cape Cod, millions along the Eastern Seaboard are bracing to find out how much more their power lines, roads and patience can withstand from one more storm in a January that has already rewritten the season’s script.