Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Storm wallops Southeast, leaving travelers on ice
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A winter storm dumped snow, sleet and freezing rain across a wide swath of the South on Sunday, causing dangerously icy roads, immobilizing snowfalls and power losses for hundreds of thousands of people.
Accidents on snow-covered interstates caused major delays, hundreds of flights were canceled, and drivers in North Carolina and Virginia got stuck in snow or lost control on icy patches. Meanwhile, kids and the young at heart took advantage of the early winter storm with snowball fights, sledding and snowmen.
Police in North Carolina and Virginia said they had responded to hundreds of snow-related traffic accidents as of Sunday afternoon, as cars, trucks and tractor-trailers all struggled with the snow and ice.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper 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, worked overnight to clear traffic accidents on major roadways.
“Stay put if you can,” Cooper said. “Wrap a few presents, decorate the tree, watch some football.”
Five members of a dive team searched the Neuse River in Kinston, N.C., for a missing truck driver Sunday after a tractor-trailer ran off a road and into the river, WRAL-TV reported. Police just outside Charlotte said a driver died when a tree fell on a moving vehicle.
Governors and local officials in several states declared emergencies ahead of the storm, which hit portions of North Carolina and Virginia particularly hard.
Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia declared a state of emergency Saturday.
“Virginians should take all necessary precautions to ensure they are prepared for winter weather storm impacts,” Northam said.
The Virginia State Police said Interstate 81 in the state’s southwest was particularly dangerous, with snow coming down faster Sunday afternoon than crews could clear it. Police said several tractor-trailers slid off the highway.
Officials warned residents to prepare emergency kits and stay off roads in affected areas. Several school districts in North Carolina and Virginia announced they’ll be closed today.
The National Weather Service said a “prolonged period of snow” began late Saturday and would last until today in the region, with the heaviest snow expected in northwest North Carolina and southern Virginia. Some areas of North Carolina and Virginia saw more than a foot of snow by Sunday afternoon.
Sleet, freezing rain and icy roads were expected across much of the area affected by the storm.
Duke Energy had projected that the storm would result in about 500,000 power failures in North and South Carolina. In some cases, it said, the loss of electricity would last for several days.
More than 300,000 power failures were reported across the region as of Sunday evening, with the majority of those — about 240,000 — in North Carolina, according to poweroutage.us. Parts of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia also saw power failures.
On Sunday morning, airlines flying into and out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina had reported more than 1,100 cancellations, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website. Raleigh-Durham International Airport was reporting more than 200 cancellations.
American Airlines issued a travel alert for nine airports throughout the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Virginia, meaning passengers may be able to change travel plans without fees.
Travelers were advised to check their flight status before heading to the airport. Cancellations were reported on flights from as far as the Midwest.
Amtrak also canceled or altered service on a number of trains through Tuesday.
The storm system had already struck a broad segment of the South over the weekend, including parts of West and North Texas.
The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported that Lubbock, Texas, received more than 10 inches of snow from late Friday through Saturday.
The National Weather Service said Littlefield, northwest of Lubbock, got 9 inches, while Abilene and Wichita Falls each recorded 3 inches of snow.
The snowfall resulted in various closures and postponements. At Texas Tech University in Lubbock, final exams on Saturday were postponed for a day.
Officials in Lubbock said roadways quickly became passable after the storm thanks to temperatures climbing above freezing and efforts to pre-treat roads before the wintry weather hit.
The city reported more than 60 crashes Saturday night.