Winter storm to wreak havoc across South
A winter storm spreading snow and ice across the South will disrupt the lives of tens of millions of people and impact highway and air travel into Saturday.
Winter storm watches and warnings were in effect Friday from Texas all the way to eastern Virginia, a distance of nearly 1,700 miles. About 60 million people are under a winter storm alert, the Weather Channel said.
A blizzard warning is in effect in the Norfolk and Virginia Beach area, the National Weather Service said. It's the first blizzard warning there in at least 30 years.
States of emergency were declared in Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama and Georgia as the storm approached.
The heaviest snow is expected Saturday in North Carolina and Virginia, where 6 to 12 inches could fall, with locally higher amounts possible, AccuWeather said. This includes the cities of Charlotte, Raleigh in North Carolina and Norfolk, Va. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper urged people to stay off the roads since virtually the entire state was forecast to see snow.
Farther south, freezing rain could coat portions of Louisiana and Mississippi in ice. Accumulations of one-tenth to one-quarter inch possible, the Weather Channel said.
Snow was already falling Friday in portions of Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee, causing widespread closures of schools, government offices and businesses.
The Weather Channel has named the storm Winter Storm Helena.
Airline passengers should expect lengthy flight delays and a number of cancellations, including in the major southern hubs of Atlanta and Charlotte, AccuWeather said. Hundreds of flights were already canceled Friday.
Airlines were waiving change fees at numerous airports. All four of the USA’s biggest carriers — American, Delta, Southwest and United — instituted winter weather waivers and many of the nation’s smaller airlines copied the gesture.
In Georgia, authorities say they have 54,030 tons of salt, 65,460 tons of gravel and 450,000 gallons of brine ready to dump on the state's roadways, the Associated Press reported.
The snowstorm will also clip portions of the Mid-Atlantic Northeast coast Saturday. Snow is expected in coastal sections of Delaware, New Jersey and southern New England.
Lake-effect snow is forecast to continue in the snow belt regions of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York state through Saturday.
In the West, widespread and potentially heavy rain is expected for much of central and northern California over the weekend, with heavy snow likely in the mountains, the National Weather Service said. Enough rain will fall to cause urban flooding and raise the risk of mudslides, AccuWeather warned.
The excessive rain, combined with melting snow, could trigger the worst flooding in northern California since 1997 and perhaps 1986, AccuWeather meteorologist Mike Smith said.
Rain and snow will also pelt much of Oregon, Washington and Nevada.
Contributing: Ben Mutzabaugh, Paste BN
