Thousands Lose Power in Ice Storm Across Southeast

Rain and freezing temperatures spread a coat of ice across parts of Georgia on Sunday, knocking out electrical service to more than half a million customers.

Many of those households and businesses could be without power until at least Tuesday as crews struggle over slippery roads to reach downed lines while more are cut by ice-coated tree limbs that continue to snap.

“This is the worst storm since Hurricane Opal came through in 1996, and it took six days to get power fully restored for that one,” said Georgia Power spokeswoman Becky Blaylock. “If it keeps raining and it freezes again . . . we could be looking at more people without power. We’re in for a long haul.”

Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes declared a state of emergency Sunday for six northern counties, and the Red Cross opened eight shelters around the state for people who had no heat.

Snow and freezing rain also fell in other parts of the southern Appalachians, and locally heavy rain fell across coastal areas of Georgia and the Carolinas as the storm pushed eastward and out to sea. Up to 3 inches of snow fell in some areas of North Carolina.

The rain had been forecast to end late Saturday in Georgia but was still falling Sunday afternoon. Temperatures in the Atlanta area didn’t warm above freezing until the middle of the day.

More than 340,000 home and business customers of Georgia Power lost service statewide, 290,000 of them in the metropolitan Atlanta area, Blaylock said. At least 175,000 customers of electric membership corporations also were blacked out. That number was trimmed to 73,000 by nightfall Sunday.

Hundreds of utility repair crews were put to work in Georgia.

North Carolina’s major utilities reported about 20,000 customers without electricity Sunday after parts of that state got a mixture of sleet, rain and snow.

Fallen branches and power lines closed about 20 roads in northern Georgia, state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Vicki Gavalas said.

Hartsfield-Atlanta International Airport remained open, but many flights were delayed or canceled as crews tried to de-ice the planes.

Parts of South Carolina got up to 6 inches of snow, and traffic on Interstate 85 came to a standstill in several spots due to slippery pavement and accidents.