Snowstorm hits the South and the Northeast

Catastrophic snow storm strikes northeast US, after causing icy chaos in south

SMH,

14 February, 2014

Atlanta: A thick layer of ice covered much of the deep south on Thursday and most of the cities of the south from Birmingham to Myrtle Beach were still locked down from a large winter storm that was moving up the east coast.

At least 800,000 customers in the south are without power, 344,000 in Georgia alone, and at least 12 deaths have been attributed to the weather.

Joey Picca, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said the impact of the storm was widespread.

More snow than Sochi ... A lone cross country skier braves the cold and snow to ski near the US Capitol Building in Washington.

“It is a storm that has brought wide-ranging effects, from heavy snow and ice to severe weather, including strong winds and hail, down south,” said Mr. Picca.

After battering the south, the storm dumped more than 30cm of snow in some parts of the mid-Atlantic region, bringing the threat of more power failures and widespread closures. Federal offices in Washington were closed on Thursday.

Air and train travel remained nearly impossible in most southern cities and airports along the east coast were also affected. In all, more than 4800 flights had been canceled on Thursday, according to FlightAware, which tracks airline flights. At least 2300 flights have been canceled at the Hartsfield-Jackson airport in 
Atlanta, 800 of them on Thursday.

Clearing the roads ... A snow plow knocks snow off an Atlanta expressway during an ice storm in Georgia.

By morning rush hour, New York City was blanketed in white. A steady snowfall gathered in intensity as the morning wore on, with blizzard-like conditions in some parts of the city. Still, while millions of schoolchildren in the storm’s path were given the day off, New York City public schools remained open.

For residents of the northeast, the storm was just the latest to come through in a particularly harsh winter. Residents in South, however, were shocked to see snow accumulations in the double digits, something that had not happened for 26 years.

Augusta, Georgia on Thursday was coated with 2.5cm of ice, Charlotte, S.C., had 15cm of snow, and Atlantans woke up to soft flakes falling over the layer of ice left from the day before. The city has been essentially closed for three days now, waiting for a weekend that promises 15-degree Celsius temperatures.

Citibikes are parked in a base station during a morning snow storm in New York's financial district.

Unlike Raleigh, North Carolina, Atlanta had learned its lesson. Two weeks ago, interstates in the Atlanta metro area were clogged with drivers who all seemed to leave their offices and schools at the same time as a midafternoon snow and ice storm hit. Some people spent more than 20 hours in the car trying to get home.

On Wednesday, although the storm warnings had been early and plentiful, Raleigh looked like a smaller repeat of Atlanta’s experience.

Some schools were canceled but residents who went to work on Wednesday poured onto Raleigh’s roads and freeways as the snow started around noon. By 3 pm, there was gridlock. Cars were abandoned as people tried to get home on foot, including Sarah Cengel. Six months pregnant and with a coat that she could not close because of the size of her belly, she walked through the snow for three hours after her car got stuck.

Traffic chaos ... abandoned cars on I-75 are piled up in the median of the ice-covered highway after huge snow storm in Atlanta.

In Wake County, North Carolina, the local authorities and members of the National Guard searched abandoned vehicles for occupants.

“We’ve gotten a couple of folks who were stranded, and we safely have taken them to area shelters,” said Eric Curry, a spokesman for the county said on Thursday. And as daybreak emerged in North Carolina, Mr. Curry said, drivers were already trying to locate their vehicles.

“We have a number of cars — not the magnitude of Atlanta — but there are cars that motorists abandoned yesterday, and they are starting to retrieve them,” he said.

In Jackson Heights, Queens, Ranjit Roy, who works at a gas station, began pushing snow with a sturdy, two-handled shovel just after midnight. But nearly as soon as he had an area clear, it was covered back up.

“Every half-hour, I do this, every time I’m done I have to start again,” Mr. Roy, 54, said early on Thursday.

In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie declared a state of emergency and urged caution.

“I encourage all New Jerseyans to drive carefully and remain off the roads if possible so that our first responders and public safety officials can safely respond to any emergency situations,” he said in a statement.

US weather Snowstorm shuts down Washington DC