The Tennessee Valley could see some of the heaviest snowfall, with 6 inches expected on Friday. A wide swath of the country is under winter weather warnings and advisories and will see impacts including "widespread closures, treacherous travel, scattered power outages, and downed branches," the weather service said.

"Not all of this will stick at first but expect our first accumulating snow in almost a year," Ray said. The wintry mix transitions to all snow at the end of the day Thursday and