Major winter storm: South braces for big blast of snow, ice

ATLANTA – Forecasts of snowfall and crystal arsenic acold southbound arsenic Georgia person enactment a large portion of the Southeast connected an exigency preparedness footing arsenic shoppers scoured store shelves for tempest supplies and crews raced to dainty highways and roads arsenic a large wintertime tempest approached from the Midwest.

In Virginia, wherever a blizzard near thousands of motorists trapped connected clogged highways earlier this month, outgoing Gov. Ralph Northam declared a authorities of emergency and urged radical to instrumentality the approaching tempest seriously.

In North Carolina, immoderate store shelves were stripped bare of essentials including breadstuff and milk.

Elsewhere, trucks began spraying a briny substance connected hundreds of miles of interstates and different roads to forestall icing crossed the region.

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Travis Wagler said helium hadn't seen specified a tally connected supplies astatine his Abbeville, South Carolina, hardware store successful astatine slightest 2 winters.

“We’re selling everything you mightiness expect: sleds, but besides salt, shovels and firewood,” Wagler said from Abbeville Hardware connected Friday. That portion faced amid predictions of a quarter-inch (0.6 centimeters) of crystal oregon much connected trees and powerfulness lines, which could pb to days without electricity.

“People are worried,” Wagler said.

Parts of Tennessee could get arsenic overmuch arsenic 6 inches (15 centimeters) of snow, forecasters said, and bluish Mississippi and the Tennessee Valley portion of Alabama could person airy snowfall accumulations. With lows predicted successful the 20s crossed a wide area, immoderate precipitation could freeze, making driving hard if not hazardous.

By Friday, the fast-moving tempest had already dropped dense snow crossed a ample swath of the Midwest, wherever question conditions deteriorated and scores of schools closed oregon moved to online instruction.

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The storm, aft its expected play dip into the Southeast, was past expected to caput into the Northeast portion dropping snow, sleet and rainfall astir the densely populated Eastern Seaboard.

A wintertime tempest ticker extended from conscionable northbound of metro Atlanta to Arkansas successful the westbound and Pennsylvania successful the north, covering parts of 10 states including Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. Travel problems could widen into metro Atlanta, wherever astir 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snowfall brought postulation to a slip-sliding halt successful 2014, an lawsuit inactive known arsenic “Snowmaggedon.”

At Dawsonville Hardware astir 60 miles (95 km) northbound of Atlanta, proprietor Dwight Gilleland said helium was already retired of heaters by noon Friday and lone had 5 bags of brackish and soil left.

“I deliberation the pandemic has made radical much anxious than normal,” helium said.

The National Weather Service said from 2 to 5 inches (5 to 13 centimeters) of snowfall could autumn arsenic acold southbound arsenic northeast Georgia from Saturday evening though Sunday, and imaginable powerfulness outages and question problems could beryllium exacerbated by immoderate coating of crystal — and winds gusting to 35 mph (55 kph).

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“Hopefully, the tempest volition underdeliver, but it could overdeliver. We conscionable don’t know,” said Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp arsenic helium announced tempest preparations. He was taking nary chances arsenic helium declared a authorities of exigency and crews began treating large roads and highways successful northbound Georgia.

Gov. Henry McMaster successful neighboring South Carolina besides issued an exigency order, saying the authorities would apt commencement feeling the effects of the large wintertime tempest Sunday morning.

“There is simply a imaginable for precise unsafe conditions caused by accumulations of crystal and snow, which volition apt effect successful powerfulness outages crossed the state,” helium said.

The metropolis of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, had to get workers from different departments to assistance dainty roads up of the tempest due to the fact that COVID-19 had caused a shortage of workers, spokesperson Randy Britton said. Even volunteers pitched successful to assistance arsenic the metropolis stepped up its mean docket of preparing for wintertime weather, helium said.

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“We consciousness existent bully astir wherever we are,” helium said. “We’ve checked the boxes.”

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed an exigency bid and the medication urged radical to enactment astatine location erstwhile the tempest hits. The authorities road bureau warned that labour shortages meant crews mightiness not respond to problems areas arsenic rapidly arsenic normal.

“We conscionable don’t person arsenic galore radical to thrust the trucks oregon run the equipment,” said spokesperson Marcus Thompson astatine the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Many schools and businesses volition beryllium closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which could assistance trim question problems on with temperatures that are expected to emergence into the 40s.

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Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina. AP writers Jay Reeves successful Birmingham, Alabama; Sarah Brumfield successful Richmond, Virginia; Tom Foreman Jr. successful Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Jeff Martin successful Woodstock, Georgia; Gary Robertson successful Raleigh, North Carolina; and Ben Finley successful Norfolk, Virginia, contributed to this report.

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