Southeastern States Pelted By Snow and Freezing Rain

Snow and freezing rain fell in several Southeastern states Saturday, a day after an onslaught that left up to a foot of snow in parts of the East. Much of the Northeast remained in the grip of a cold spell.

Sleet and freezing rain damaged trees and power lines Saturday in central Georgia, and an inch of ice covered roads between the towns of Gordon and Irwinton. Parts of northern Georgia were coated with up to 3 inches of snow by mid-afternoon, and there were reports of deeper snow in the mountains.

Residents in the Atlanta area reported snowflakes the size of cotton balls.

“There’s about an inch of snow in my yard, and snowflakes falling the size of half-dollars,” said one resident of the suburb of Chamblee. “It’s the prettiest snow I have seen in my years in Atlanta.”

Snow also was scattered over western North Carolina, with almost 6 inches covering Mt. Mitchell and 4 inches in Boone. Freezing rain and sleet extended over southeast Virginia and central North Carolina.

Cold weather continued in much of the Northeast. The early-morning temperature was 7 degrees in Harrisburg, Pa., where the old mark of 10 had stood since 1917. Saturday’s low for the Lower 48 states was 16 degrees below zero at Montpelier, Vt.

Although snow and rain were still falling in the South, the wintry storm that had walloped the mid-Atlantic Coast and the South crept out to sea Saturday.

Temperatures in parts of the East were forecast to climb today and begin melting away the glaze of ice that was as thick as 1 inch in the heart of Georgia.

But the National Weather Service issued a statement saying that another storm might strike Monday and dump more snow in parts of the East.

The wintry onslaught Friday left up to a foot of snow in parts of Delaware, Maryland, the Washington, D.C., area, northern Virginia and West Virginia. Smaller amounts fell over most of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina.

The icy blast also struck parts of the Midwest and Mississippi Valley, dumping varying amounts of snow. Freezing rain fell from southeast Arkansas into southwest Mississippi.

A dangerous sheet of ice formed over many areas hit by the storm, including roads in most of North Carolina, where two people died early Saturday in a car crash in Cumberland County, highway patrol Sgt. D. W. Taylor said.

The weather also was blamed for the deaths of a total of 13 other people in accidents Thursday and Friday in five states.