Winter storm drapes Southeast U.S. in snow and ice, grounds hundreds of flights

A brutal winter storm descended upon the East Coast on Wednesday, bringing snow to Florida and Georgia along with ominous forecasts of bone-chilling temperatures and pummeling snow expected to follow across the eastern United States.

The powerful storm prompted dire warnings from meteorologists and government officials alike, as authorities shut down schools, grounded flights and closed roadways throughout the Southeast. Forecasts called for the storm to become a “bomb cyclone” because its pressure will drop so quickly, causing it to intensify at explosive rates.

Snow and freezing rain coating parts of the Southeast on Wednesday are only expected to be the beginning. The storm is forecast to travel up the coast like a snowbird in the spring, bringing snow to the Mid-Atlantic and then potential blizzard conditions in New England on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. After that’s done, forecasters warn, a painful cold will follow.

“Bitter cold and dangerous wind chills to persist into the weekend,” the National Weather Service said in a warning Wednesday morning.
The storm has already caused issues for travelers, halting scores of flights. Even before the forecast snow arrived in the Northeast, airlines had canceled more than 1,700 flights on Thursday, most of them through the three New York-area airports as well as Boston.

Airlines bracing for the weather had begun issuing waivers for travelers heading through essentially the entire East Coast, allowing people to change their flights without any fees.

As the storm began to grind across the East Coast, it brought wintry weather to unusual places. Snow fell Wednesday on Tallahassee, Florida’s capital, and stretched across the border into Georgia. The Raleigh, N.C., office of the National Weather Service reported that the temperature there dropped to 9 degrees on Wednesday morning, tying a record low set on the same date in 1887.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) declared a state of emergency for 28 counties, warning that the snowfall and freezing rain could melt and then refreeze, “producing additional ice related hazards.” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said that while it was hard to predict the snowfall totals, the impact could make it treacherous for people to drive. Authorities there also warned about the dangers the extreme cold could pose for the elderly and children, among others.