Winter Snow Storm Updates: States Brace for Dangerous Conditions
The storm was expected to chug along the Appalachians and into the Northeast on Sunday. In Florida, the system spawned a tornado that displaced about 200 people.
A strong winter storm brought heavy snow to parts of the Southeast on Sunday and was expected to leave about a foot of snow in parts of the Northeast, knocking out power to tens of thousands of customers as dangerous ice coated highways in the Carolinas.
In the South, where some governors declared states of emergency on Friday, areas such as central Mississippi and central North Carolina had already received more than nine inches of snow, while portions of Alabama and Tennessee had a mixture of snow and freezing rain, the National Weather Service said.
“This storm is going to be pretty significant in terms of generating travel impacts, outages and things of that nature,” said Rich Otto, a meteorologist with the Weather Service.
In Georgia, about 46,000 customers were without power on Sunday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us, which aggregates data from utilities across the United States. South Carolina had nearly 78,000 customers without power, and North Carolina had about 86,000.
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More than a quarter-inch of ice was expected to accumulate in the Piedmont regions of North and South Carolina on Sunday.
Forecasters said the storm system could bring more than a foot of snow to some areas, including parts of the Appalachians and upstate New York. Parts of the upper Midwest and northwest Pennsylvania could get up to two feet of snow, Mr. Otto said.
Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina warned residents at a news conference on Sunday to stay off the roads because parts of the state had received up to a foot of snow.
“For today, the best way to avoid a car accident or getting stranded is to stay put,” he said.
As of Sunday morning, there were already 200 reports of crashes as a result of the storm, said Col. Freddy Johnson Jr., the commander of the State Highway Patrol.
“Travel is treacherous across much of our state,” Colonel Johnson said.
The North Carolina officials said on Twitter that “many North Carolinians could be without power in extremely low temperatures” on Sunday. Mr. Cooper said several counties were opening warming shelters.
The storm system also spawned at least one tornado in southwestern Florida on Sunday morning, the Weather Service said. There were no reports of injuries or deaths, local officials said, but there was widespread damage, especially to mobile home parks in the Iona McGregor area of Fort Myers, Fla., officials said. About 200 people were displaced.
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Rodney Wynn, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Tampa, Fla., said it is common for winter storm systems to cause “severe weather outbreaks” in the South.
As the storm moved toward the Northeast on Sunday afternoon, it was expected to remain inland, meaning cities closer to the coast, from Washington to Boston, will primarily receive heavy rain, Mr. Otto said.
Significant flooding was possible in parts of eastern Long Island and coastal New England on Sunday night and into Monday morning, he said.
Ben Gelber, a meteorologist at WCMH-TV in Columbus, Ohio, said on Saturday that “more people will be impacted by this storm than any winter storm we’ve had this season.”
By Sunday morning, more than 1,000 flights had been canceled in the affected states, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks delays and cancellations across the country.
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Elsewhere in the South, northeastern Georgia and the Carolinas were expected to bear the brunt of freezing precipitation on Sunday, meteorologists said.
In Georgia, the Department of Public Safety reported several examples of drivers losing control on icy roadways, and officials said that road conditions would worsen through the day as strong wind gusts battered the state, hindering efforts to clear the highways.
Crews in South Carolina and Mississippi were also working on Sunday morning to clear highways. Videos shared by the states’ transportation departments showed highways that were covered by snow and almost entirely clear of vehicles.
On Friday, Gov. Ralph S. Northam of Virginia and Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia joined Mr. Cooper by declaring states of emergency.
Virginia transportation officials were caught off guard this month when a storm stranded hundreds of drivers on Interstate 95 south of Washington.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York said at a news conference on Sunday that snow could fall in parts of upstate New York at a rate of three inches an hour on Sunday evening.
“Overnight is going to be very unpredictable,” she said, “and with the darkness and ice on the roads and high winds, this could be a very dangerous situation.”
Grace Ashford contributed reporting.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/16/us/snowstorm-updates-news.html
