Hundreds of thousands lost power, and at least three people were killed as a winter storm brought freezing rain and as much as 2 feet of snow to parts of the Southeast. In addition, almost 2,000 flights were also canceled by the massive winter blast.
The National Weather Service said the North Carolina communities of Saluda and Sparta were covered with at least 18½ inches of snow, while Fries, Virginia, got 18 inches. Thirteen inches were reported in Lawn, West Virginia; 12 inches in Kingsport, Tennessee; and 11.9 inches in Inman, South Carolina.
As of Monday, more than 200,000 customers remained without power, according to utility firms. More than half of those affected were in the Carolinas, but power outages were also reported in Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee.
In Matthews, North Carolina — a southern suburb of Charlotte — the driver of a vehicle was killed and a passenger was injured when the vehicle was struck by a falling tree branch. In addition, a woman who was living on hospice care in her Haywood County home also died when her oxygen tank stopped working during a power outage. Another person died from a heart-related condition while en route to a shelter.
The storm was forecast to fully end late Monday, but some areas in the southern Appalachian region could still be at risk for pockets of snowfall into Tuesday.
