Southern states bracing for potential of snow, sleet, ice

Jacinto L. Santos makes his way through the snow on his bicycle in Detroit, Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016. Santos, originally from Texas, said his mountain bike is his main mode of transportation to work and everywhere. Much of Michigan's southern Lower Peninsula, from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron, is under a winter storm warning. (Robin Buckson/Detroit News via AP) (The Detroit News)

ATLANTA – Forecasters say a winter storm system could blanket much of the South with a wintry mix of rain, sleet and snow from Texas all the way east to the Carolinas.

Even parts of the deep South — including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama — were bracing for the possibility of snow by Friday.

Freezing rain and ice is also possible in areas such as Atlanta, where frozen freeways have shut down traffic in past storms. Forecasters say they don't expect the worst of the wintry weather to strike metro Atlanta until after schoolchildren are dismissed Friday afternoon.

Forecasters said early Wednesday that it's too soon to predict snowfall amounts.

In Louisiana, weather service forecasters say they expect a potential mix of wintry weather will move in fast Friday night.