Band of snow, ice blankets Southern states; winter storm makes its way to mid-Atlantic

South blanketed with ice, snow; mid-Atlantic next

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A storm that blanketed the South with snow Saturday had children eager to sled down hills, while grown-ups were warned to stay off slippery roads as officials worked to clear a mess of wrecks and downed power lines.

Nearly a foot of snow had fallen in parts of western North Carolina, and nearly 10 inches had fallen in some areas north of Memphis, Tenn. In Nashville, about a half-foot of snow was on the ground, the National Weather Service said.

A central Tennessee woman was killed when a tree weighed down with ice crashed into her mobile home early Saturday, Maury County Fire Department Assistant Chief Roy Brooks told The Tennessean of Nashville. The woman, whose name was not immediately released, was pronounced dead at the scene.

To the northeast, the Washington-Baltimore area was preparing for 4 to 8 inches of snow as the storm approached. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for parts of Maryland and Virginia and the District of Columbia.

In southern Maryland, one person was found dead after a house fire in Accokeek that firefighters said they had a hard time getting to because of the snow. Prince George’s County fire department spokesman Mark Brady said the winter storm and snowfall made driving conditions hazardous.

About a foot of snow was reported in the Richmond area in Virginia, the weather service said.

In northern Virginia, the weather caused several multi-vehicle crashes along Interstate 81 in Shenandoah County, Virginia State Police said. Four people were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.

Transportation officials were urging drivers to stay off the roads.

The weather also cut short a farewell celebration Saturday at the National Zoo in Washington for young panda Tai Shan, who will be flown to China on Thursday to become part of a breeding program.

The storm left roads icy and snowpacked across the South, and thousands were without power as ice accumulated. Although police said they had to clear hundreds of wrecks overnight, there were no deaths or serious injuries reported.

Few cars were on roads around Nashville, and most people seemed to be hunkered down indoors. Some ventured out on camouflage all-terrain vehicles usually reserved for hunting season.

Jake Guthrie, manager of a Nashville Ace Hardware, pasted a “Sold Out of Sleds” sign at the entrance of the store after selling “several hundred” in the past two days. Workers had to tell a steady stream of callers that they wouldn’t have any more sleds until Friday.

“But winter’s not over yet,” Guthrie said.

The DuBose family was enjoying a second day of sledding on Nashville’s outskirts.

“We ran over the dogs yesterday, so we left them at home today,” said Jane DuBose, 47, as her two sons, ages 8 and 12, were sledding down the entrance ramp to a closed road.

In Smyrna, southeast of Nashville, a high school bowling tournament was postponed after snow and ice caused the roof to collapse at the bowling alley where it was to be held, according to the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.

Will O’Halloran, publisher of City Social Magazine in Baton Rouge, La., got caught in the storm in both directions of his monthly trip to pick up the publication from a printer outside Louisville, Ky. At one point he thought his headlights were broken, only to find they were covered in ice.

“People are crazy out there,” O’Halloran, 49, said over breakfast at a McDonald’s outside Nashville. “Cars spinning, trailers jackknifed. I just tried to keep it at 40 mph and move along.”

The Carolinas were preparing for a treacherous night if water on roads and bridges turned icy.

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue declared a state of emergency as some mountain areas got more than a foot of snow throughout the day Saturday. More than a dozen emergency shelters opened across the state, Perdue said. However, officials said the storm was not as bad as they had predicted.

States of emergency also were declared in Arkansas, Tennessee and parts of Virginia.

In Kentucky, the state transportation cabinet said in a news release that about 5 to 6 inches of snow had fallen in most of the state, with nearly a foot piling up closer to the Tennessee line.

Temperatures around the region were forecast to remain low through the weekend.

Meanwhile, states in the storm’s wake were uncovering from inches of snow and caked ice that fouled electricity to hundreds of thousands of customers.

Gov. Brad Henry requested a federal disaster declaration for all of Oklahoma after a massive storm left up to a half-inch of ice on trees and power lines. A spokeswoman for Public Service Co. of Oklahoma, Andrea Chancellor, said it could be five days before electricity is restored to all customers.

Associated Press writers Joyce Garcia in Chicago, Meg Kinnard in Columbia, S.C., and Michael Felberbaum in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.