Severe storm continues dumping snow and sleet across US southern states
Authorities have urged millions of people to stay home as a lingering storm keeps dumping immobilizing snow, sleet or freezing rain across five southern states, leaving dangerously icy roads and hundreds of thousands of people without electricity.
More than 300,000 power outages were reported across the region, with North Carolina bearing the brunt of it, and nearly 270,000 remained without power on Monday morning, according to poweroutage.us. South Carolina and Virginia, along with parts of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, also saw outages.
Hundreds of road accidents on snow-covered interstates caused major delays on Sunday, hundreds of flights were canceled and drivers in North Carolina and Virginia got stuck in snow or lost control on icy patches. But the commuters’ nightmare provided prewinter thrills for kids and the young at heart, who were able to go sledding and build snowmen in places that don’t often see so much of the white stuff.
The National Weather Service said a “prolonged period of snow” began late on Saturday and would last until Monday in the region, with the heaviest snow in north-west North Carolina and southern Virginia. Some areas of North Carolina and Virginia saw more than 1ft (30cm) of snow by Sunday afternoon.
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’s governor, Roy Cooper, strongly urged residents to stay off the roads, 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 on Sunday. “Wrap a few presents, decorate the tree, watch some football.”
Five members of a dive team searched the Neuse river in Kinston, North Carolina, for a missing driver on Sunday after a tractor-trailer ran off a road and into the river, WRAL-TV reported. Police just outside of 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 crossing several southern states.
Virginia state police said Interstate 81 in far south-west Virginia was particularly dangerous, with snow coming down faster on 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 schools districts in North Carolina and Virginia announced they would be closed on Monday.
“Virginians should take all necessary precautions to ensure they are prepared for winter weather storm impacts,” said Virginia’s governor, Ralph Northam.
Charlotte Douglas international airport, the sixth busiest airport in the country, said American Airlines reduced its operations, with more than 1,000 flights canceled on Sunday.
American Airlines 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.
Travelers were advised to check their flight status before heading to the airport. Cancellations were reported on flights from as far as the midwest.