There is nothing we can do to stop this epic week of weather, and believe me, I have been trying to find silver linings or rays of sunlight.

So, the best preparation is fresh, accurate, and expert information from trusted sources.

While every new weather model run (alphabet soup of acronyms) shows slight adjustments in who gets the most freezing rain (ice) and snowfall?? there is little doubt about the aftermath of the massive ice storm: hazardous cold like January 21, 1985 when the United States ???????? average low temperature sunk to 4°F.

Many of these record lows are still standing.

You should be prepared for extended power outages with subzero temperatures outdoors. Think about where you can go, what you can do, and who needs even more help to survive this week ahead. This is not hype or a joke.

Let's dig in (or out) of this Winter Storm that is actually 2 waves of moisture that finally consolidate into a rather powerful Nor'easter.

A massive "slug of moisture" will stream out of the subtropical Pacific and then the Gulf of Mexico to combine into an "atmospheric river". Normally that would be heavy rain and maybe snowfall where the air is below freezing.

Not this time -- we will have extremely cold Arctic air flooding southward: and the atmospheric river will go up and over the more dense cold air near the surface. When the warmer subtropical moisture falls through the : it turns to snow or freezing rain or sleet.

Total Snowfall Amounts (NOAA Blend of Models -- trust this b/c it includes the ECMWF or Euro flagship model) may be an underestimate (!)

We can partition the precipitation (called QPF for quantitative precipitation forecast) into rain, snow, sleet, and freezing rain by using the temperature and humidity of the column of air above the surface.

These amounts forecast by ECMWF 12z will not all immediately freeze on contact with surfaces like trees and power lines, but a LOT of it will accrete, and cause potentially catastrophic damage.

The National Weather Service forecasts 0.25" to 0.5" inch of ice accumulating across across Texas, and nearly an inch in northern Louisiana into Mississippi. Then, cold air damming by the Appalachians keeps enough cold air at the surface (easterly winds) to put Atlanta under threat of significant icing. Not good!