The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast are bracing for several more inches of snow

The East Coast is preparing to get several inches of snow — just days after the Mid-Atlantic was hit by a storm that caused a more than day-long traffic jam in Virginia.

A winter storm is expected to bring heavy snow and ice from parts of the South into the Northeast on Thursday night into early Friday morning.

Snow from the storm system fell hard early on Thursday in Tennessee and Western Kentucky, causing major pileups on the roadways.

Some areas in Kentucky received nearly 7 inches of snow, prompting Gov. Andy Beshear to declare a state of emergency following the heavy snowfall.

"We are urging Kentuckians to stay off the roads if possible," Beshear said. "The weather we are continuing to see across Kentucky is dangerous."

It was the snowiest day in Tennessee in years

According to AccuWeather, Tennessee experienced its snowiest day since 2016. Between 4 and 7 inches of snow fell throughout Nashville and most of the Middle Tennessee region, according to the Tennessean.

Police from several departments in Tennessee had to respond to a crash involving multiple cars on I-65 as well as I-40, which involved tractor trailer trucks, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

By mid-day, the Nashville International Airport recorded at least four inches of snow and disruptions to air travel in and out of the airport.

Mid-Atlantic is prepping for more snowfall

The National Weather Service indicated Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York should expect between 2 and 7 inches of snow. Southern New Jersey is expected to get 4-6 inches of snow early Friday.

Ahead of the storm, Boston Public Schools cancelled school for Friday.

During Monday's storm, more than a foot of snow fell in some areas of the greater Washington, D.C. region — the most since 2016. Thursday's storm is expected to drop between 2-3 inches of snow. Worst-case-scenario predictions have snowfall at 5-8 inches.

Officials are warning drivers to stay off the roads if they don't need to be out, as the storm could cause travel to become very difficult.

Parts of Virginia, which experienced an hours-long backup on Interstate 95, are still recovering from the snowfall earlier this week. Hundreds of motorists were stuck in freezing temperatures – some for more than 20 hours — along a 50-mile stretch of I-95 after several tractor trailers crashed, blocking traffic. More than 75,000 homes and businesses were still without power on Thursday evening, according to Poweroutage.us.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam issued a state of emergency on Wednesday in anticipation of the storm, which could bring another 4 inches of accumulation to parts of the state.

Virginia State Police said after Monday's wintry weather, officers responded to 1,220 crashes and 1,414 disabled vehicles statewide from Jan. 3 to Jan. 4. The police said they are ready for this next storm to hit.

"We will have all available troopers on patrol in order to respond as quickly as possible to traffic crashes, emergencies & disabled motorists," Virginia State Police's Major RC Maxey, Jr. said during a press conference Thursday.

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