Winter Storm Enzo A Rare Snow, Ice Threat As Far South As Gulf Coast, Including Houston, New Orleans

W​inter Storm Enzo will bring a stripe of snow and ice to the South early this week, creating dangerous travel conditions including in areas near the Gulf Coast where winter weather is rare.

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Winter Storm Alerts Posted

T​he National Weather Service has posted winter storm alerts across the South from central and eastern Texas to parts of Georgia. Cities in those alerts include Houston, New Orleans and portions of the Atlanta metro area.

These alerts mean that snow, ice and wind could combine to make conditions dangerous early this week. Roads may become covered in snow and/or ice and power outages are possible.

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H​ere's a day-by-day look at the upcoming winter storm and some additional caveats to the forecast:

Monday Night's Forecast

• T​he first collision of cold and moisture will likely occur over Texas and Louisiana late Monday.
• I​t is likely that there will be a zone of snow, sleet and freezing rain, especially near and south of Interstate 20 to the Gulf Coast.
• M​any bigger Texas cities will see the threat of snow and/or ice, including Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Corpus Christi.
• T​he northward extent of this wintry weather is the most uncertain part of the forecast, so expect changes.
• T​here is some ice threat for parts of South Texas from Galveston to the Rio Grande Valley.

T​uesday's Forecast

• M​oderate to major impacts are possible from eastern Texas to southern Mississippi, including Houston and New Orleans. Closures, dangerous travel, power and other infrastructure disruptions are possible.
• Snow and ice will spread farther east along the Gulf Coast into parts of Alabama and Georgia, the Florida Panhandle, and the Carolinas through Tuesday night.
• F​or now, precipitation will fall as snow along and north of Interstate 10 and as a wintry mix along and south of Interstate 10.
• P​recipitation in the Florida panhandle is expected to begin Tuesday as plain rain. During the evening hours, this rain may become freezing rain or sleet as temperatures cool.
• W​ind gusts over 30 mph are possible near the Gulf Coast. This could blow snow around and lead to broken branches.
• The northern and eastern extent of this storm's moisture, and thus snow and ice, is highly uncertain. This includes the Atlanta metro area, where hazardous travel is possible Tuesday depending on how far north this storm's snowfall spreads toward Interstate 20.

M​uch of this storm will be over with by Wednesday morning, but some snow and ice might linger in northeast Florida and the coastal Carolinas.

Snowfall Forecast

B​elow is a look at the latest snowfall forecast, but keep in mind changes are likely given lingering uncertainties in the forecast.

• At least a few inches of snow will pile up from southeast Texas into Louisiana, southern Mississippi and southern Alabama. Where bands of heavier snowfall rates develop we could see higher totals of up to a half-foot, especially in southern Louisiana and southeast Texas.
• A​ccumulating snow is also possible in parts of Georgia and the eastern Carolinas.
• A​s mentioned earlier, the northward and eastern extent of any accumulations is highly uncertain, including around Atlanta, the rest of Georgia and the Carolinas. However, even light amounts could create hazardous travel conditions.
• T​here is also a zone from the Florida panhandle to coastal South Carolina, and also southern Texas, that may pick up enough ice to cause tree branches to bend and roads to get slick.

Wintry M​ess Via Common Tricky Setup

T​he configuration for this snow and ice threat is common as we slide through late January and into the second half of the winter.

W​idespread arctic air is taking over much of the central and eastern U.S., including well into the Deep South. This source of fresh, cold air is the first ingredient needed to get snow and ice along the Gulf Coast.

(​MORE: Here's What You Need To Know About Snow And Ice In The South)

A​t the same time, a weak wave of low pressure over the Gulf of Mexico will help lift moisture northward into the region, resulting in snow and ice.

Jonathan Belles has been a graphics meteorologist and writer for weather.com for 8 years and also assists in the production of videos for The Weather Channel en español. His favorite weather is tropical weather, but also enjoys covering high-impact weather and news stories and winter storms. He's a two-time graduate of Florida State University and a proud graduate of St. Petersburg College.