Snow, Ice Storm Hits Carolinas, Va.; 2nd on Way

A deadly storm that paralyzed a large section of the country from Missouri to the Carolinas and Virginias sputtered, then departed by way of the Eastern Seaboard today with another snow and ice storm on its heels.

“The worst is likely over for residents in the Carolinas and the Virginias” as the storm moved out to sea, National Weather Service spokesman Hugh Crowther said.

Winter storm warnings remained in effect only for the Eastern Shore of Virginia, where an additional four inches of sleet and snow was expected. Rain and gale-force winds continued over the coastal regions of Virginia and North Carolina.

Roads, however, remained treacherous across much of the region.

“We have snow and ice over much of the highways,” said James Armbrister, a state police communications operator in Bristol, Va. “We’re urging people to use caution. It’s still a threatening situation.”

Blamed for 12 Deaths

The latest batch of storms, along with bitter cold that has clung to the Northeast, has been blamed for at least 12 deaths since the weekend.

Overnight temperatures in the Northeast again dipped into the single digits and below. The nation’s low for the second straight day was in Watertown, N.Y., which recorded a reading of 13 degrees below zero. Glens Falls, N.Y., matched that overnight low.

Heavier snowfall amounts since Monday included 10 inches in Lynchburg, Va., 9 inches in Roanoke, Va., and 6 inches in Richmond, Va., and Beckley and Bluefield, W. Va. Granville and Person counties of North Carolina were buried under eight inches of ice and sleet.

As salt and snow removal crews worked to clear roads made into sheets of glass by the snow, freezing rain and sleet, a second storm system was making its way east. Tulsa, Okla., picked up three inches of snow early today, while two inches fell in Wichita, Kan.

By mid-morning, light snow and freezing drizzle was reported from eastern Kansas and Oklahoma to Tennessee, Southern Illinois, southern Indiana and Kentucky, where almost the entire state was paralyzed by Monday’s storm.