Rare winter storm pulling out of South leaves behind airport delays, treacherous roads

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Posted 8:47AM on Friday, January 4, 2002

RALEIGH, N.C. - A potent mix of snowfall and deep freeze has wrapped the South in a dangerously icy cocoon, leaving at least 10 people dead from accidents on slick roads. The storm has dumped about a foot of snow on parts of North Carolina, Virginia and Georgia. The snow was tapering off early Friday, but freezing temperatures -- including record lows in parts of Florida -- were expected to extend the misery into the weekend. Hundreds of flights were canceled at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, the nation's busiest. South Carolina's governor declared a state of emergency, called out the National Guard and told tens of thousands of state workers to take the rest of the week off. The storm came as a shock to Southerners who were basking in 70-degree temperatures just a couple of weeks ago. Daffodils, crocuses and cherry blossoms were tricked into believing spring had already arrived. "What a change," said Susan Yeaman of the National Weather Service in Raleigh. "The weather pattern changed about a week ago, and it doesn't show any signs of changing back." More than 2,400 accidents were reported in the Carolinas as the storm passed through. In South Carolina, two women died when their cars skidded on ice and were struck by oncoming traffic. Three deaths were blamed on slick roads in Mississippi, as were two in suburban Atlanta, two in North Carolina and one in Virginia. Thousands of passengers were stuck at the Atlanta airport on Thursday after the snow forced airlines to cancel about 600 flights. Some passengers had to wait for hours on airplanes as departing aircraft lined up to be deiced. Only 20 flights arrived and departed Thursday morning, instead of the usual 180. "We would not have the same amount of equipment as you would find at O'Hare or LaGuardia where they can count every winter on getting hit with a large amount of snow," airport spokeswoman Lanii Thomas said. Schools and businesses across the region were closed. But there was no rest for utility workers dealing with power outages, including 30,000 in South Carolina and 7,500 in North Carolina. In a rare sight, light snow fell in the Florida Panhandle cities of Pensacola and Marianna. Wind chills in the teens caused a run on firewood, forced farmers to cover their crops and sent crowds into shelters in northern Florida. Freeze warnings were posted there and along the Alabama coast, and record cold was predicted in southern Florida. John David Wright, 36, found a place to sleep at the overcrowded I.M. Sulzbacher Homeless Center in Jacksonville, where 331 people filled the center's 278 beds and available floor space. "It is a blessing to have someplace to stay out of the cold," Wright said. "I was sleeping outside on the concrete." In Wake Forest, N.C., Royce Fuoco used a plastic rake to shovel snow in his driveway -- and wished he had listened to his mother-in-law in New York when she offered him a shovel over the holidays. "It's been two years since we've gotten snow," he said. "Why bother getting one now? I figured if all else fails I've got my trusty green leaf rake."