East Receives More Snow, Cold From Lingering Storm

A combination of snow, rain and sleet lingered over the eastern part of the country Wednesday, forcing schools to remain closed for a third straight day in southern Illinois and leaving roads slick and treacherous.

The slow-moving system followed nearly the same path as the ice and snow storm that swept from Missouri to the Carolinas and Virginias early Tuesday, but was weaker and was expected to dump only four inches of new snow.

The death toll rose to at least 14 from the winter storms and arctic cold that is clinging to the Northeast this week. A 27-year-old North Carolina man died Wednesday in a car crash on an icy bridge.

Lows overnight were again in the single digits or below zero in Upstate New York and northern New England. It was 9 degrees below zero Wednesday morning at Massena, N.Y.

Inch of New Snow

Roanoke, Va., which was buried under nine inches of snow from the earlier storm, picked up another inch early Wednesday. Charleston, W.Va., and Lexington, Ky., also received an inch of new snow.

The latest storm spread a combination of light snow, sleet, freezing drizzle and light rain from the Tennessee Valley and southern Ohio Valley across the Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic Coast states.

The National Weather Service issued travelers advisories for parts of Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, the Virginias and the Carolinas.

Schools closed since Monday because of dangerous road conditions in southern Illinois remained shut down for a third day Wednesday.

Guard Delivers Generators

In Kentucky, about 50 members of the National Guard delivered generators to dairy farmers in Grayson, Hart and Green counties who were among 21,000 utility customers that lost power in the earlier storm.

The Guard was circulating 18 generators to allow farmers to operate milking machines. Utility officials said power was not expected to be restored until the end of the week.

University of Kentucky dairy expert Robert Harmon said the problem could seriously hurt the farmers financially. “When you stop milking any animal for a two- or three-day period that animal will begin to produce less,” Harmon said.

Milked by Hand

Some farmers with small herds milked by hand, but for the larger operations that was impossible.

“There is just not enough hours in the day for those farmers,” said James Thomason, an Agriculture Department agent in Grayson County.

Without electricity, the farmers also will have problems keeping the milk at the right temperature to prevent bacteria from growing.

Elsewhere, fair skies were common over much of the southern Plains, upper Midwest and in the Southwest. Scattered rain was reported across the Florida peninsula, while rain and snow showers fell in the Pacific Northwest.