Atlanta: A historic winter storm that swept across the U.S. South this week has brought the region to a near standstill, with a rare deep freeze expected to persist through Sunday. The icy conditions have created hazardous driving environments and left many travelers stranded as snow, sleet, and freezing rain ravaged areas from Houston to New Orleans, Florida’s Panhandle, and the Carolinas.
The cold front has also reached record-breaking temperatures, with snow accumulation marking the storm’s severity. In Milton, Florida, 9 inches (23 cm) of snow fell, while New Orleans saw 8 inches, and parts of North Carolina’s Outer Banks received up to 9 inches.
Yancy Roberts, a clerk at Freret Hardware store in New Orleans, shared his personal experience, walking eight blocks to work on Thursday morning through thick snow, slipping on ice, and narrowly avoiding a fall on hidden “black ice.” “The city ain’t thawed out yet,” he said. “Maybe tomorrow it will.”
The storm, which moved out to sea overnight, has left behind a transformed landscape, as cities across the region were blanketed in snow and ice. Online images displayed scenes of children making snow angels in Savannah, Georgia, and using kayaks as sleds in Pensacola, Florida. In Charleston, South Carolina, icicles adorned the Spanish moss hanging from the area’s iconic tree limbs.
Kameron Tanner, a 27-year-old Florida native, commented on the rare nature of the storm, stating, “A lot of it melted already, but it’s still super slippery. Everybody’s kind of slipping and sliding around here.”
Although some areas saw temperatures rise above freezing on Wednesday, dangerous conditions remain as the melting snow refroze overnight, creating treacherous roads. The National Weather Service noted that temperatures would dip again, with icy conditions expected to persist, especially when temperatures fall back into the 20s on Friday.
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Meteorologist Richard Hurley from the NWS’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, pointed out that cold records were tied or broken across the South, including Augusta, Georgia, where temperatures dropped to 16°F (-8.8°C), matching the record set in 1874. Other cities like Tallahassee, Florida, Mobile, Alabama, and Gulfport, Mississippi, all reported significant cold, with temperatures well below the region’s typical 60s and low 70s.
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School closures were widespread throughout the Deep South, including Florida State University in Tallahassee, while travel delays continued with over 1,200 flights canceled or delayed on Thursday. Sadly, at least 12 people lost their lives due to the extreme weather. Five died in a multi-vehicle crash in Zavala County, Texas, and at least seven others perished from exposure to the cold in Texas, Alabama, and Georgia.
The subfreezing temperatures are expected to ease by Sunday, offering relief from the storm’s extreme conditions.
