Snow and sleet pounded a large swath of the East Coast on Saturday, coating roads with ice and causing hundreds of crashes. Thousands of people lost power and forecasters warned of blizzard-like conditions from Virginia to parts of the Northeast.
Police investigated several fatal crashes as potentially storm-related, but some of the South’s biggest cities – Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh – appeared to avoid the worst of the storm. Authorities praised residents for learning the lessons of past storms that resulted in icy gridlock, where thousands of people were stranded along the interstates. But officials warned that bitter cold would keep roads treacherous well after the snow and sleet stopped.
“If I tell you anything it would be stay home,” Gov. Roy Cooper said. “Do not go out and drive on the roads unless you absolutely have to.”
The storm lingered in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, where blizzard conditions were reported. The weather was believed to be responsible for a 20-vehicle pileup on a Connecticut highway, although initial reports indicated there were no serious injuries
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A National Weather Service map showed the snowfall seemed to follow the Interstate 85 corridor through the state, with locations along and north of the highway receiving snow, and areas to the south getting rain and sleet.
Snowfall totals reached up to 10 inches in at least seven North Carolina locations, including Greensboro and High Point, Lewisville in Forsyth County, and Lenoir and Rhodhiss in Caldwell County, according to preliminary figures from the National Weather Service.
A foot of snow fell in parts of eastern Virginia, according to the National Weather Service, and a blizzard warning was issued for the cities along the coast.
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North Carolina reported more than 700 crashes, while Virginia State Police said they responded to 500 crashes. Parts of three interstates in Mississippi were gridlocked by icy conditions. Hundreds of flights were cancelled, from Atlanta to airports farther north.
At least three deaths are being blamed on the weather. In Kentucky, a man was killed when his pickup truck went off a snow-slickened Kentucky road Thursday. In Georgia, a 20-year-old Georgia State University student was killed after his SUV crashed on Interstate 75 in Monroe County. Virginia State Police say slick roads caused a man’s SUV to run off the road and overturn in a creek, killing him. Motorist deaths in North Carolina and Maryland as the storm blew in were also being investigated to see if they were caused by the weather.
North Carolina power outages peaked around 25,000, according to the governor, but power company figures indicate the number had dropped to several thousand by late Saturday.
In Cornelius, north of Charlotte, Matt Thomas said he used a ruler to measure nearly 6 inches of snow and sleet that had piled up on the back of his pickup truck. He planned to spend the weekend enjoying the snow and watching television. A plow passed through his neighbourhood, but the road still looked slippery.
“The sleet started first, so there’s definitely a layer of ice under the snow,” he said by phone. “I’m staying home.”
The unpredictable storm left some areas with much different outcomes than neighbouring counties. Unofficial totals from the National Weather Service showed that much of Raleigh and Charlotte had 2 inches or less of precipitation – much of it sleet – while areas to the north of both cities got several inches of snow.
In Atlanta and parts of Georgia, people who were expecting a couple of inches of snow instead woke up to a thin coat of ice. Still, it didn’t stop children from sliding down slick grassy hills in what is a once- or twice-a-year icy occurrence.
Some took to social media to complain that they didn’t have anything to sled in, prompting an apologetic Tweet from one well-known Raleigh weatherman.
“To all my detractors, more than 24 hours ago I began talking about how this snow event could go up in smoke. I try to be honest-all I can do,” WRAL-TV chief meteorologist Greg Fishel said early Saturday.
A blizzard warning for southeast Virginia accompanied forecasts of high winds and up to 9 inches of snow there. The National Weather Service had already measured nearly 6 inches of snow at its post in Wakefield on Saturday.
Even with snow coating Virginia Beach roads, diners and staff made it to the popular breakfast spot Citrus.
“When there’s bad weather, people come out,” manager Tara Junke said. “I’ve worked in restaurants for 20 years in Hampton Roads and we’ve never shut down for snow.”
Chris Turner, 58, a health care analyst sitting at the counter with a mug of tea, said he drove 7 miles to his usual breakfast spot, aided by four-wheel drive.
“It’s fun to enjoy mother nature in all her glory,” he said. “I’d rather be out. I can’t stay at home.”
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