Hundreds of Thousands Lose Power as Ice Paralyzes South

[alp227]

Source: NY Times

ATLANTA — At least 300,000 customers across the Deep South were without power on Wednesday as a potent winter storm pelted Atlanta with ice and threatened the Carolinas as it marched toward the Northeast.

More than 200,000 customers were reported without service in Georgia and about 100,000 in South Carolina. Power failures were also reported in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi and North Carolina.

“Everything is going as well as can be managed, but we are going to manage this hour by hour,” Gov. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina said at a news conference at her state’s emergency operations center.

Waves of rain began falling in the early hours Wednesday and trees, cars and streets were coated in a layer of ice the likes of which this part of the country rarely sees. Transportation throughout much of the region was at a standstill as winter storm or ice storm warnings stretched from Texas to Vermont, with the storm moving into the Northeast by Thursday. Traffic jams on freeways were reported in North Carolina as well as southern Virginia.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/us/winter-storm.html

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Local, non-Yankee media coverage:

DC:
Washington Post: With storm blowing in, the region gets ready

NC:
Charlotte Observer: Snow blankets Charlotte, clogs roads; CMS closed Thursday

Raleigh News & Observer: Snow arrives in the Triangle, causing gridlock on the roads

Duke-Carolina game canceled after all: ". The game will be played on Feb. 20, according to a UNC statement."

(In fact, UNC-CH campus is closed until 11am Thursday. I don't know why UNC couldn't have just delayed the game earlier if they felt campus wasn't safe for navigation.)

SC:

(Columbia) The State: More than 230,000 SC customers without power

GA:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 2 Georgia deaths blamed on winter storm; feature story about state utility workers

[longship]

1. Good post, alp.

R&K