Winter Storm
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A winter storm was sweeping across a wide swath of the South on Friday. Atlanta’s airport issued a ground stop after a plane was evacuated onto a snowy runway.
Judson JonesChristine HauserSean Keenan and
Judson Jones is a meteorologist and reporter for The Times.
A heavy mix of snow and sleet on Friday swept across parts of the South that are not used to winter weather, prompting flight cancellations, school closures and official warnings to stay off the roads when possible.
A winter storm warning stretched from eastern Oklahoma to Virginia, the National Weather Service said, as a mix of snow and freezing rain fell in cities including Jackson, Miss.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Atlanta.
Parts of western Arkansas had more than a foot of snow, with heavy snowfall accumulating from the previous day. From Friday into Saturday, parts of the Mid-Atlantic, the Ohio Valley and the Northeast could receive between one and five inches of snow.
The snow had largely ended in Georgia by midafternoon on Friday, leaving freezing rain as the primary concern through the rest of the day. Snow continued to fall across Tennessee as the storm continued to push toward the Mid-Atlantic. Light to moderate snow was expected across the Mid-Atlantic region as the storm tracks across Georgia and South Carolina on Friday night, and a wintry mix will cover the North Carolina coastal plain. Most of the winter weather was expected to be clear of the East Coast by sunrise Saturday morning, or a little after.
The widespread mix of wintry precipitation led to the cancellation of more than 3,000 flights in and out of airports in Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville and Charlotte, N.C., on Friday.
At Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, where nearly 60 percent of outgoing flights had been canceled or delayed, a ground stop was issued for all incoming Delta flights on Friday after an aborted takeoff led to passengers on a Delta plane being evacuated onto the snowy runway, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. A Delta spokeswoman said that four people were treated for minor injuries and that there was “no indication of weather being the cause of the engine issue.”
Spencer Reeve, 42, a board game marketer who had a 12:40 p.m. Delta flight to Los Angeles from Atlanta, said the situation at the airport had quickly turned from “relaxing” to “frustration” after the ground stop was issued. “It’s just rolling cancellations and delays right now,” he said.
Andrew Gobeil, an airport spokesman, later said that at least two runways were open.
The icy, snowy mix made streets and highways treacherous across a wide swath of the South. In northern Mississippi, multiple crashes were reported on roads that were coated in ice and snow, the state’s Emergency Management Agency said.
A section of Interstate 22 in Mississippi and Alabama was shut down because of a crash in Marshall County, in north-central Mississippi. In northern Alabama, many roads were ice covered and impassable, Jim Stefkovich, a meteorologist with the state’s Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement.
“If you’re trying to get on the roads, don’t get on them,” Gov. Brian P. Kemp of Georgia said at a news conference on Friday, warning that, with temperatures remaining near the freezing mark, the mix of snow and icy rain would likely make roads hazardous through Sunday.
Snow and ice accumulation in North Georgia was making roads increasingly dangerous, he said.
In Atlanta, most shops and restaurants were shuttered. The city seemed to have learned its lesson after less than three inches of snow led to chaos in 2014, leaving motorists stranded, children stuck in buses and schools and government leaders scrambling to clean up the mess.
The governor at the time, Nathan Deal, apologized for the response, and his emergency management chief resigned. When forecasters predicted a similar storm a few weeks later, Mr. Deal shut down the city government and urged businesses to follow suit.
Andre Dickens, then a council member and now Atlanta’s mayor, said he was confident in the city’s ability to weather the storm this time around. “The only 911 calls we’re getting are from people who are trying to drive on hilly back roads,” he said. “They are running into mailboxes and poles and parked vehicles, because Atlanta is hilly and we don’t have snow tires.”
The city and state seemed better prepared this time. Officials urged people to stay indoors, and highways and city streets were salted before the storm. The roads were virtually empty on Friday — save the occasional skier or sledder — as the morning’s powder melted into slush around noon.
One exception to the closures was Waffle House. Benji Waugh, a customer, knew the famously resilient breakfast joint would be open for business.
“Living in the South, anytime there’s a hurricane or a tornado or some kind of storm, everywhere shuts down,” he said in an interview at the Waffle House across from Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. “But it’s just easy to go to Waffle House, because they’re always open.”
Governor Kemp declared a state of emergency on Thursday in anticipation of the storm, as did his counterparts in Tennessee and Arkansas. While Tennessee is familiar with winter storms, some areas, like Memphis, could receive their largest two-day snow totals in 40 years. Parts of the state are still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which moved through the state as a tropical storm in September. Six inches of snow was reported in Memphis as of 11 a.m. Eastern, the Weather Service said.
Across North Carolina, snow and ice accumulations could lead to widespread power outages, emergency management authorities said.
By midday on Friday, up to 1.5 inches of snow had dusted the mountain area of Cherokee County, in western North Carolina. The storm was on track to continue east through Saturday morning. “We expect a reasonably fast-moving storm; hopefully it won’t be too bad here,” said Brian Haines, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety.
Unusual cold across the East Coast is expected to continue into next week.
Judson Jones is a meteorologist and reporter for The Times who forecasts and covers extreme weather. More about Judson Jones
Christine Hauser writes breaking news stories, features and explainers. More about Christine Hauser
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