Associated Press
ATLANTA – A storm glazed the South with snow and sleet Wednesday, delighting children but knocking out power and making roads treacherously slick from Louisiana to the Carolinas.
Forecasters predicted up to 8 inches of snow for parts of the region and warned that a hard freeze overnight would make this morning’s commute even more dangerous. Up to a foot of snow was possible in North Carolina.
Three deaths were blamed on icy roads in Mississippi and airlines canceled dozens of flights in Atlanta. In South Carolina, where some 15,000 people lost power, officials told all 64,000 state employees not to report to work today. State employees in Columbia were sent home about noon.
In a region where people were golfing and playing tennis in 70-degree weather just last month, some businesses closed for the day, extending the New Year’s holiday.
Southern Mississippi recorded 3 inches of snow, and Montgomery, Ala., got 4 inches – the most in that city since a blizzard nine years ago dumped half a foot. Snow and sleet in Alabama fell to within about 100 miles of the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico.
In Montgomery, the Carter family and a neighbor fashioned a distinctively Southern snowman with a Mardi Gras hat, a carrot nose, Oreo cookies for eyes and pecans for buttons.
“This is the best snowman I’ve ever seen,” declared 6-year-old Austin Carter.
The snowfall hardly compared with the nearly 7 feet that paralyzed Buffalo, N.Y., last week, but Southern drivers have less experience with slippery roads.
Officials throughout the South warned that the worst was probably still to come, with snow and slush turning to ice by this morning.
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