South storm hits traffic, disrupts inauguration

ATLANTA — A winter storm stalking the South disrupted a new governor’s inaugural ceremonies in North Carolina, triggered hundreds of fender benders in Tennessee, and led shoppers to empty shelves of bread and milk.

Road workers rushed to pre-treat roads as states of emergency were declared in Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas amid threats of snow, sleet, freezing rain and gusting winds.

Winter storm warnings were issued for parts of Alabama and Georgia, including Atlanta, and into the Carolinas and part of Virginia. Schools canceled classes in several states. Officials warned that their Southern cities, with far fewer snowplows, could grind to a halt with even a thin coat of ice or snow.

The winter mess was blamed for hundreds of fender benders and other non-injury crashes, some involving school buses, on Nashville roads coated by 1 to 2 inches of snow early Friday. Nashville’s city school district ordered classes to start as scheduled, but had to hastily call early dismissals as reports of non-injury crashes multiplied. All students were later transported safely home.

The storm was blamed for one death Thursday in Kentucky when a motorist drove off a curve on a snow-slickened road.

Winter weather also slammed parts of the West, prompting some dangerous conditions, but also drawing skiers to the slopes. In Colorado, heavy snow and strong winds raised the danger of avalanches. Snow in Boise, Idaho, reached 15 inches Thursday, breaking the previous record of 13 inches from the mid-1980s.