Freak Storm Shuts Schools and Disrupts Power : Parts of Dixie Get First April Snow Ever

A freak spring storm on Friday snarled the Deep South with the first April snow accumulation on record in many areas, closing schools and knocking out power to thousands, and depositing more than a foot of snow in Appalachia.

Jackson, Miss., received an inch of snow and parts of northern Alabama had accumulations up to nine inches, weather officials said.

Snow fell as far south as Mobile, Ala., closing schools in at least six counties. In Birmingham, a six-inch snowfall closed schools and blacked out about 54,000 utility customers.

In northeast Alabama, several state highways were glazed and troopers reported cars sliding off roads.

‘Roads Impassable’

“We have problems all over; the roads are impassable and extremely hazardous,” said Sherri Walden of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department in Scottsboro.

Pennsylvania braced for up to two feet of snow in the west and flooding in the east from what could be “one of those storms people talk about for years,” National Weather Service forecaster Lou Giordano said.

Ski slopes reopened in the mountains of West Virginia, where up to two feet of snow was expected.

Many schools closed in east Tennessee. Knoxville reported scattered power outages and seven inches of snow. As much as six inches fell in northern Georgia, knocking out power to more than 5,000 customers in the Rome area.

Storm Warnings Posted

Winter storm warnings were in effect from northeast Georgia and western South Carolina to southwest Pennsylvania and western parts of Tennessee and Kentucky, and up to a foot of snow was expected in some areas by this morning.

The unusual spring weather extended to Chicago, where the heat of the morning sun and cold winds off Lake Michigan whipped up a “mini-blizzard” that covered about three square miles of the city, authorities said. Only 15 miles away, O’Hare International Airport had clear skies and sunshine.

At least 25 record low temperatures were set in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama and Kentucky. A 17-degree reading in Chicago tied the previous record low established in 1879.

In Maine, where flood-swollen streams have inflicted millions of dollars in damage since Wednesday, the Penobscot River invaded the city of Bangor, and residents braced for a crest six feet above flood stage.

The most serious flooding, however, triggered along the Kennebec and Androscoggin rivers by heavy rain and melting snow, appeared to be easing, officials said.