The winter storm paralyzes the South and cancels more than 3,000 US flights

CNN
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A powerful winter storm is flooding the South with snow and ice, causing significant traffic disruptions and power outages just a day after it hit the Prairies.

The storm had already paralyzed the south on Friday – closing schools and government offices and declaring a state of emergency as it began to affect travel.

According to FlightAware, more than 3,000 flights in and out of the U.S. were canceled on Friday – the worst day for flight cancellations since July – as the storm spread across almost all major airports in the South.

Snow fell across much of Tennessee early Friday afternoon, including in Memphis and Nashville, while a mix of snow and sleet hit parts of the Southeast – including Atlanta, which saw its biggest snowfall in nearly seven years.

Areas further west received the same treatment overnight, resulting in a scene far from a winter wonderland.

More than 135,000 homes and businesses were without power in Georgia, Texas and other states According to PowerOutage.us, Arkansas experienced freezing temperatures Friday evening. Most of the outages occur in Georgia.

Snow has been accumulating in these areas since Thursday. Areas north of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metro recorded up to 8 inches of snow, while up to 12 inches fell near Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle. 2 to 4 inches of snow fell in Dallas, making this storm the city’s largest in four years.

6 to 10 inches of snow fell in southeastern Oklahoma, and more than a foot of snow fell in central Arkansas.

The bad weather made travel treacherous and there were multiple reports of broken tractor trailers and stuck cars in both northern Texas and southern Oklahoma. All southbound lanes of Interstate 35 in southern Oklahoma became a parking lot near Davis after a crash closed them.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol responded to more than 500 traffic accidents Thursday, including 85 crashes that resulted in injuries, the agency said in a post on X.

In Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Sanders has activated the National Guard to help stranded drivers, she said on X.

Roads in parts of Alabama remained dangerous and impassable through Friday morning, state officials said. All city roads in Calhoun County are closed, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Friday, adding that snow and ice are covering the roads.

According to the state’s highway patrol, several accidents and slide-offs were reported in neighboring Mississippi.

At least moderate impacts from the storm are expected in parts of the South on Friday, according to the Winter Storm Severity Index. Some areas could be severely impacted by this storm, resulting in significant disruption to daily life and hazardous travel conditions. This includes Atlanta, where freezing sleet fell early Friday morning before turning to snow.

By mid-morning, there were widespread reports of 1 to 3 inches of snow and sleet across metro Atlanta. The city will face mixed rainfall for most of the day. In addition to treacherous travel, ice formation could also lead to power outages.

If temperatures drop below freezing after sunset, slush and standing water on roads in north Georgia will quickly refreeze, creating dangerous travel conditions through Saturday, the National Weather Service in Atlanta warned.

Any amount of ice is dangerous; Just a thin layer — even a tenth of an inch — can turn paved surfaces into ice rinks, causing people to slip and vehicles to spin out of control, as happened in the central U.S. over the weekend. Ice can also stress power lines and cause outages.

According to a news release Wednesday, all city of Atlanta government offices will be closed Friday and the city has opened several warming centers.

Georgia officials said they had learned important lessons from the infamous 2014 “Snowpocalypse” disaster that left hundreds of cars stranded on Atlanta’s icy highways.

“We got ahead of the storm,” said Gov. Brian Kemp. “It’s hard to keep up with Mother Nature, but we’re doing our best.”

According to the state Department of Transportation, about 20,000 miles of roadway were treated with brine before the first flake of snow fell Friday, with more than 300 plows clearing the highways.

Still, “numerous” accidents and incidents have already been reported on Georgia’s interstate and state routes, the Department of Transportation said in a statement Friday, adding that “conditions on the roads continue to deteriorate and should be considered dangerous for travel.” “.

The Georgia Department of Public Safety said it received over 1,000 calls for service related to the weather conditions Friday, with 225 accidents reported.

According to FlightAware, more than 590 flights, or 56%, departing Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta were canceled as of 5:00 p.m. ET. The airport is the busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic and is also an important hub for the legacy airline Delta Air Lines.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a ground stop was ordered at Atlanta Airport on Friday afternoon at the airline’s request.

Two of American Airlines’ major hubs, Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, also canceled many flights for the day, with 43% of departing flights canceled at Charlotte and 23% at DFW, according to FlightAware.

Messy snow and an icy mix arrived in parts of the Carolinas Friday afternoon and will impact those states and nearby portions of the Mid-Atlantic through Friday night.

Charlotte, North Carolina, hasn’t recorded any measurable snow — at least 0.1 inches — in nearly two years, but will likely end this snow drought. Much of the state could see 1 to 3 inches of snow by Saturday morning, with more than half a foot in the mountains of western North Carolina.

Western North Carolina was devastated by Hurricane Helene in September and recovery is still underway.

“We know that those still recovering from Hurricane Helene will particularly feel the impacts of the storm,” North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said Friday. “Crews began preparing for the storm on Wednesday and have been responding to winter weather in the mountains for weeks.”

All Helene disaster rescue centers in the region are closed Friday and Saturday due to the storm but plan to reopen Monday morning, officials confirmed at a news conference Friday. More than 100 National Guard soldiers were deployed in western and central North Carolina ahead of the storm and were ready to respond, officials added.

Snow also began falling in Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana on Friday as a storm moving south from Canada interacted with the southern storm and moved moisture north. Widespread snow amounts of 1 to 3 inches are expected across Kentucky and parts of the Midwest through Friday night.

The Northeast will also see 1 to 3 inches of snow fall Friday night into Saturday morning.

CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller and CNN’s Andy Rose, Artemis Moshtaghian and Alexandra Skores contributed to this report.