Swath of South faces wintry mess: Snow, sleet, freezing rain

A massive storm brought snow, sleet, and freezing rain across a wide swath of the South on Sunday - causing dangerously icy roads, immobilizing snowfalls and power losses to hundreds of thousands of people.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper strongly urged residents to stay off the roads Sunday, asking drivers not to put lives of first responders needlessly at risk. Cooper said emergency crews, including the National Guard, had worked overnight to clear traffic accidents on major roadways. One tractor trailer ran off a road and into a river, Cooper said.

“Stay put if you can,” Cooper said. “Wrap a few presents, decorate the tree, watch some football.”

Governors and local officials in several states declared emergencies ahead of the storm crossing several Southern states, which is hitting portions of North Carolina and Virginia particularly hard.

Officials have warned residents to prepare emergency kits and staff off roads in impacted areas.

“Virginians should take all necessary precautions to ensure they are prepared for winter weather storm impacts,” said Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. The National Weather Service said a “prolonged period of snow” began late Saturday and would last until Monday in the region, with the heaviest snow expected in northwest North Carolina and southern Virginia. Forecasters have said some mountain areas of North Carolina could get up to 12 inches (30 centimetres) of snow or more.

Heavy rains also were expected elsewhere in other parts of the South, creating possible floods in coastal areas.

More than 300,000 power outages have been reported across the region with the majority of those about 180,000 - in North Carolina, according to poweroutage.us. More than 82,000 were without power in South Carolina, while a total of about 75,000 outages were reported across Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the sixth busiest airport in the country, said American Airlines would reduce its operations starting Saturday evening, with more than 1,000 flights cancelled on Sunday. American has also issued a travel alert for nine airports throughout the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Virginia, meaning passengers may be able to change travel plans without a fee.