After a frigid winter storm closed schools, power outages and canceled or delayed flights, snow began to slowly thaw in the south on Sunday as the weather warmed.
Crews worked hard, and by Sunday morning, power had been restored to parts of North Carolina and South Carolina, where tens of thousands of customers had been without power over the past few days, according to Duke Energy.
She said power was restored to 97 percent of retail customers served by Georgia Power — the state’s largest utility — which serves all but four of the state’s 159 counties.
“Crews have not slowed down, in fact, we have brought on additional resources to help us cross the finish line,” a press release on the Atlanta City Government Facebook page said.
Most of the winter weather has moved out of the area, said Dylan Lusk, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Peachtree, Georgia.
“Most of the time, we warm up slowly and then finally thaw a little bit after a snowfall and a layer of freezing rain,” Lusk said.
The weather is expected to be warmer but some areas are still facing ice and authorities have warned people to drive slowly and be careful about slick spots on the roads – especially when temperatures drop again at night and the ice melts and freezes again.
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“Black ice will return as temperatures drop below freezing this evening and into Monday morning,” the National Weather Service said.
More than 600 flights to and from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were delayed throughout the afternoon, according to FlightAware.com. Airport officials said parking lots had been evacuated and runways were starting to operate, but in the afternoon a delay was issued on the ground to de-icing planes.
Seven flights were canceled – an improvement from Saturday when about 1,000 flights were canceled or postponed.
Earlier this week, the storm brought heavy snow — up to 7 inches (about 18 cm) thick in some areas — and made roads slippery across much of Texas and Oklahoma before moving east.
In some cities, the storm accumulated more than a year’s worth of snowfall. Up to a foot (about 31 cm) fell in parts of Arkansas. In Memphis, a city that usually sees 2.7 inches (6.9 centimeters) annually, Memphis International Airport recorded more than seven inches (about 18 centimeters).
Atlanta received more than two inches (five centimeters) of snow on Friday, the National Weather Service said. This is the first time more than an inch of snow has fallen in the city since 2018, the agency said.
While the National Weather Service says Gulf Coast residents can expect rain Sunday and Monday, other parts of the country could see snow and are bracing for a mass of cold, dry air from the Arctic region — including the Great Lakes region.
Although conditions are expected to improve, some places – including churches – announced their closure on Sunday.
School was canceled Friday for millions of children from Texas to Georgia and even eastern South Carolina, giving them a rare snow day.
Officials in north Alabama said Saturday that schools may remain closed Monday if secondary roads do not thaw.
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Klein reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Finley from Norfolk, Virginia.
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