Power outages and canceled flights as winter storm brings snow, sleet and ice

"An immense and powerful winter storm is blanketing the eastern two-thirds of the United States with a mix of heavy snow, dangerous ice and frigid temperatures, affecting tens of millions of people from New Mexico to New England. Nearly a million customers across the South were without power on Sunday evening, as the effects of the weekend's massive weather system began to take hold. Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas were among the hardest hit. States from Missouri to Maine were under a winter storm warning on Sunday. National Weather Service forecasters were particularly concerned about freezing rain and ice."

""Whenever we see these big ice events, we'll see various hazards; obviously bridges and overpasses being frozen over, and with trees and various different things that could fall into the roadways or potentially fall on houses," Nicholas Price, an NWS meteorologist in Texas, told NPR earlier. The storm severely disrupted air travel. By Sunday evening, over 11,000 flights had been canceled in the U.S. and more than 4,200 were delayed, according to FlightAware."

"Alabama Northwest portions of the state, including Lauderdale County, are some of the areas impacted most by the storm. Under 2,000 people are without power in western parts of Lauderdale County, according to Lauderdale County Emergency Management Agency Director Brad Holmes. Up to an inch of ice has accumulated on power lines and trees, with over 100 trees reported down across roadways throughout the county, Holmes told NPR on Sunday."

A powerful winter storm is affecting the eastern two-thirds of the United States with heavy snow, freezing rain, ice accumulation and frigid temperatures, impacting tens of millions from New Mexico to New England. Nearly a million customers in the South lost power, with Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas among the hardest hit. National Weather Service forecasters warned of dangerous freezing rain and ice that can freeze bridges and overpasses and bring down trees and power lines. The storm severely disrupted air travel with over 11,000 U.S. flight cancellations and thousands of delays. Officials urged residents to avoid travel and offered safety and home protection guidance.

Read at www.npr.org