Storms hold grip on both coasts
N.C. hit with extreme cold
A winter storm that spread ice and snow from Mississippi to Maine is leaving behind cold so bitter that businesses and schools are closing in the South because the region still hasn’t thawed.
Four deaths have been blamed on the storm, which dropped more than a foot of snow in southern New England, caused a former governor to fall on his icy driveway in Mississippi and could bring the first below-zero weather to parts of North Carolina in more than 20 years.
Meanwhile, the West Coast is dealing with the next storm, which brought the potential of a crippling ice storm to western Oregon and heavy rain to California mountains used to seeing snow this time of year. Forecasters warned of possible mudslides and the worst flooding in more than a decade.
In the East, the worst, lingering problems were expected in North Carolina, where up to 10 inches of snow and sleet fell in places Saturday. The deep freeze followed. Forecasters predict temperatures won’t get above freezing in much of the state before Tuesday afternoon, a big problem in a place where officials depend on usually mild weather to melt away the ice and snow on less traveled routes.
One person died in Montgomery County when a car slid off Interstate 73/74.