Winter storm breaks annual snow record in several southern US states

The strong winter storms hitting the central eastern United States have far exceeded the annual rainfall in several states in the south of the country, which in the last week have experienced accumulation of snow with temperatures below freezing.

The storm this Friday and Saturday had already dumped more snow than some southern cities receive in a year, according to reports from several states that remain in a state of emergency due to winter weather.

About 1 foot (31 centimeters) fell in parts of Arkansas. There were reports of nearly 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow in Little Rock, a city that typically averages about 3.8 inches (9.6 centimeters) a year.

At Memphis International Airport in Tennessee, about 7 inches (18 centimeters) of snow was reported to have fallen since Thursday night. The city typically receives 6.9 centimeters (2.7 in) annually.

Farther south and east, into Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, a wintry mix of sleet, snow and ice made travel hazardous.

Sleet and snow that fell across parts of Atlanta into South Carolina and North Carolina turned to freezing rain, and forecasters warned that if the ice buildup gets heavy enough, power lines and trees could fall.

The storm also dumped about 7 inches (18 centimeters) in places in central Oklahoma and northern Texas.

Power outages and flight cancellations

The number of people without power in Georgia rose sharply overnight to more than 100,000 customers, primarily around the Atlanta metro area. More than 30,000 were without power Friday night in northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas.

Snow began falling in the Atlanta metro area before dawn, also resulting in the cancellation of hundreds of flights and delays of hundreds more at the Atlanta airport, according to flight tracking software FlightAware.

Controllers declared a suspension of ground operations before 8 a.m., meaning no planes could land or take off.

The storm has also caused delays of hundreds of flights at international airports such as Atlanta, where Delta Airlines’ operations are centered.

That airport reported an incident on Friday when a takeoff was aborted, resulting in three injured passengers, one of them hospitalized, and the situation only tended to get more complicated.

Other airports that had significant delays and cancellations included Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas-Fort Worth and Nashville. Fifty-five passengers who were on three American Airlines flights that were diverted from Dallas-Fort Worth spent the night Thursday at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock.

There was a chance of up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow falling in parts of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

The cold snap coincided with rare January wildfires that devastated the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

[Con información de The Associated Press]

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