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Southern
US struggles through 'catastrophic' winter storm
RT,
12
February, 2014
Thousands
of Americans across the South found their travel plans complicated
Tuesday as wind, snow, and icy rain whipped through North Carolina
and Georgia in what experts think is the start of a three-day
blizzard that could impact 100 million people.
Michael
Musher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, warned
that ice forecasts “remain mind-boggling if not historical” in
major metropolitan areas including Athens, Atlanta, and Augusta,
Georgia, Columbia, South Carolina, and Raleigh, North Carolina.
“High
ice accumulations will make travel impossible,”
the NWS said in an advisory Tuesday. “This
has the potential to be a catastrophic event, widespread power
outages are possible as ice accumulates on trees and power lines and
brings them down.”
Wow.
“@smartfootball:
It begins RT @WillBrinson:
Downtown Raleigh! (Via @WRAL)
pic.twitter.com/HBc4B7k0zc”
Both
Maryland and Virginia declared states of emergency Tuesday before
much of the snow had fallen, warning residents to stay indoors and
prepare for possible electricity outages.
“Just
as state government is preparing for this storm, I urge every
Virginian to take proper preparations,”
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said in a statement. “Prepare
to limit unnecessary travel during the storm, have emergency supplies
on hand and be ready in the event that power in your area goes out.”
Across
the nation, flights were cancelled in anticipation of the ice. Mark
Wiebke, an assistant aviation director at Charlotte airport, told the
Charlotte Observer the weather has become so unpredictable in recent
years that crews have begun to rely on a “snow desk,” a wall of
screens keeping them informed on air patterns and on airplane
de-icing procedures.
“In
this part of the Carolinas, it changes all the time,”
he said of the forecast. “You
think it’s going to happen and it doesn’t. Then the next morning
you get up and you have 6 inches.”
This
image tells the story. Triangle snow. I-85 in Durham. @WRAL
#ncsnow
#ncwx
(PHOTO CREDIT: ARIELLE CLAY)
US
President Obama declared a state of emergency in Georgia, two weeks
after state officials were embarrassed by their lack of preparation
for a small amount of snow. Atlanta public school officials announced
schools would be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, with emergency
crews throughout the state mobilizing to fix downed power lines or
help the elderly and stranded.
Between
3 to 6 inches of snow and sleet are initially expected in the
northeastern corner of the state. The Atlanta metropolitan area is
not expected to receive more than 3 inches, Governor Nathan Deal told
reporters. Total accumulation could reach eight inches by the time
the snow stops falling on Atlanta Thursday.
“We’ve
included health officials and power companies in our preparations
because heavy downfalls of ice can knock out power supply,”
he said. “I
want to make sure we’re reaching out to health care facilities so
they can have backup plans in place.”
Remnants
of the storm are expected to travel north, hitting New York City,
Boston and much of the northeast by Wednesday night, when other areas
will still be trying to recover. Among the worst hit already was
Texas, where at least four people died. One of those was a
firefighter who fell from an icy highway when responding to a traffic
accident.
Thousands
of utility vehicles had assembled throughout the South packed with
salt, brine gravel, sand, and other tools used to clear the roads.
Aaron Strickland, chief of the Georgia Power Storm Center, told USA
Today he had never seen an inch of ice in Atlanta. He said that, in
preparation, crews were on hand from Pennsylvania, Florida, North
Carolina, and elsewhere.
“I’ve
seen people forecast it, but it’s
never come,”
he said. “And
I’m hoping it doesn’t this time.”
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