Forecasts of snow and ice as far north as Georgia have put much of the Southeast on emergency preparedness as shoppers scoured store shelves for storm supplies and crews scooted to treat freeways and roads as a major winter storm approached from the Midwest.
In Virginia, where a snowstorm earlier this month trapped thousands of motorists on congested freeways, outgoing Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency and urged people to take the approaching storm seriously. In North Carolina, some store shelves were robbed without essentials like bread and milk.
As of Friday, the fast-moving storm had already dumped heavy snow across much of the Midwest, where travel conditions worsened and scores of schools were closed or switched to online classes. Iowa was hit hardest. Brad Small, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the Des Moines airport saw more than 14 inches of snow and a large swath of central and southern Iowa recorded between 9 inches and a foot of snow.
In perhaps a preview of the troubles in the east, the Iowa State Patrol had reported that 207 motorists had been assisted and 78 accidents had occurred in the four hours between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday, according to the Des Moines Register.
In a press release, Indiana Michigan Power said it has already dispatched more than 200 employees to help its sister company Appalachian Power Company when the storm knocks out power and that they are stopping in Virginia and West Virginia for what was expected would be a storm dropping “several inches of snow, sleet, and ice and experiencing strong gusts of wind”.
Parts of Tennessee could get up to six inches of snow, forecasters said, and northern Mississippi and the Tennessee Valley region of Alabama could receive light snow accumulations. With lows predicted over a wide area in the 20’s, any precipitation could freeze, making driving difficult, if not dangerous.
Travis Wagler said he hasn’t seen such a rush for supplies at his Abbeville, South Carolina hardware store in at least two winters.
“We sell everything you expect: sleds, but also salt, shovels and firewood,” Wagler said of Abbeville Hardware on Friday. That region faced forecasts of a quarter inch (0.6 centimeters) or more of ice on trees and power lines, which could result in days without power.
A winter storm watch stretched from just north of Metro Atlanta to Arkansas to the west and Pennsylvania to the north, covering portions of 10 states including Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. Travel problems could extend to Metro Atlanta, where about two inches of snow halted traffic in 2014, an event still known as “Snowmaggedon.”
A mix of ice and up to an inch of snow is expected in Atlanta, according to a report from the National Weather Service on Saturday.
At Dawsonville Hardware, about 60 miles north of Atlanta, owner Dwight Gilleland said by midday Friday he was already out of heat and only had five sacks of salt and sand left.
“I think the pandemic has made people more anxious than usual,” he said.
According to flight-tracking site flightaware.com, which tracks flight cancellations worldwide, nearly 1,000 domestic US flights have already been canceled for Sunday in anticipation of snow and ice in the South. A key US airport for American Airlines — Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina — topped Sunday’s list of cancellations at US airports.
Potential power outages and travel problems could be exacerbated by each layer of ice – and wind gusts of up to 55 km/h, the National Weather Service said.
“Hopefully the storm will deliver too little, but it could deliver too much. We just don’t know,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in announcing storm preparations. He took no chances when he declared a state of emergency and crews began manipulating main roads and highways in north Georgia.
Gov. Henry McMaster of neighboring South Carolina also issued an emergency order, saying the state is likely to feel the effects of Sunday morning’s big winter storm.
“There is a possibility of very hazardous conditions caused by accumulations of ice and snow, which will likely result in power outages across the state,” he said.
The city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, had to borrow workers from other departments to treat streets ahead of the storm because Covid-19 had caused a labor shortage, spokesman Randy Britton said. Even volunteers helped out as the city accelerated its normal schedule to prepare for winter weather, he said.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed an emergency order and the administration urged people to stay home once the storm hits. The State Highway Agency warned that the manpower shortage would mean crews might not be able to respond to problem areas as quickly as usual.
The storm, after its expected weekend break in the southeast, was then expected to move to the northeast, dropping snow, sleet and rain around the densely populated east coast.
Many schools and businesses will close Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which could help reduce travel concerns as well as temperatures that are expected to soar into the 40s.
