Hall schools opening on time, but prepared to close early

UNDATED - Hall County school officials say parents should be on the alert for a possible early closing of schools today if snow moves in as expected later today.

However, schools will be open and school buses are running their regular routes this morning. Any announcement of any early closing will be made through the media and also an automated phone call system, according to school officials.

Some schools in the Gainesville area will be closed today or have already announced plans to close early. (See separate posting.)

Meanwhile, threats of snow are shuttering schools across the South as residents brace for a rare white landscape in some places that haven't seen snow in a decade.

Snow was falling early Friday from Texas to Louisiana. The storm has already dumped 9 inches on Dallas and is expected to crawl all the way to South Carolina.

Predictions of a n inch of snow earned students the day off in the Florida Panhandle. Classes also were canceled in parts of Alabama, where up to 5 inches of snow could fall.

Forecasters say up to 4 inches of snow is expected along parts of South Carolina's coast, including in Charleston, which hasn't seen snow in 10 years. As much as 3 inches could hit Savannah, Ga., where snow was last traced in 1996.

But the further north you go in Georgia, the chances of much accumulation lessen.

The Gainesville area is under a winter weather advisory for 1-2 inches.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)