Major cities spared as snow slams East Coast
DURHAM, N.C. — Snow and sleet pounded a large swath of the U.S. East Coast on Saturday, coating roads with ice and causing hundreds of crashes. Thousands of people lost power and forecasters warned of blizzard-like conditions from Virginia to parts of the Northeast.
Police investigated several fatal crashes as potentially storm-related, but some of the South’s biggest cities — Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh — appeared to avoid the worst of the storm. Authorities praised residents for learning the lessons of past storms that resulted in icy gridlock, where thousands of people were stranded along the interstates. Officials warned that bitter cold would keep roads treacherous well after the snow and sleet stopped.
“If I tell you anything it would be stay home,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said. “Do not go out and drive on the roads unless you absolutely have to.”
The storm lingered in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, where blizzard conditions were reported. The weather was believed to be responsible for a 20-vehicle pileup on a Connecticut highway, although initial reports indicated there were no serious injuries.
A National Weather Service map showed the snowfall seemed to follow the Interstate 85 corridor through the state, with locations along and north of the highway receiving snow, and areas to the south getting rain and sleet.
Burlington and Roxboro in central North Carolina received eight inches or more of snow. Preliminary figures from the National Weather Service in Greer, S.C., showed snowfall totals reached up to 10 inches.
Several inches fell in southeast Virginia, where a blizzard warning was issued for the cities along the coast.
North Carolina reported more than 250 crashes. Virginia State Police said they responded to 325 crashes and 322 disabled vehicles across the state between midnight and noon on Saturday. Hundreds of crashes were reported in Tennessee. Parts of three interstates in Mississippi have turned into parking lots as motorists were stuck when the roads became too icy to negotiate. Hundreds of flights were cancelled.
Power outages had grown to about 25,000 in North Carolina alone, according to a news release from the governor. By sunset on Saturday, the number had dwindled to just below 2,400.
In Cornelius, north of Charlotte, Matt Thomas measured nearly six inches of snow and sleet that had piled up on the back of his pickup. He planned to spend the weekend enjoying the snow and watching television.
“The sleet started first, so there’s definitely a layer of ice under the snow,” he said by phone. “I’m staying home.”
Out west, rain on top of heavy snowpack led to flooding in Nevada. Rains in California raised the prospect of mudslides, while snow, freezing rain and strong winds plagued Utah.