Deep South braces for rare, deep snow

A rare but powerful winter storm marched across the southern tier of the United States early Friday, spreading rain, sleet, ice and snow from Texas to Georgia.

The Southern states were getting a smaller dose of what their northeastern and mid-Atlantic counterparts have had to put up with this past week, digging out from a pair of record-setting blizzards.

Hundreds of Atlanta flights were canceled for Friday as snow began to bear down on the area.

Delta Air Lines canceled about 800 flights into and out of Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, and AirTran Airways canceled 32 flights ahead of the storm, according to representatives of the airlines.

The new storm was taking a more southerly route than the previous two. Accumulations of up to 5 inches were predicted for parts of southeast Mississippi and southwest and south-central Alabama overnight Thursday into Friday.

Downtown Atlanta could get as much as 5 inches of snow Friday, beginning at mid-morning, according to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport had recorded 9.4 inches by Thursday night. It was the most snow recorded at the airport since 7.8 inches fell on January 15, 1964, and the same amount on January 14, 1917, the National Weather Service said.

Louisiana closed state government offices in 42 parishes for Friday because of the storm.

In Washington, more than 250,000 federal workers were told to report to work on Friday, after having the first four days of the week off because of a pair of winter storms.

"Employees should plan to arrive for work no more than two hours later than they would normally arrive, and employees who cannot report for work may take unscheduled leave," said a statement from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

The first storm dumped more than 30 inches of snow in some places last weekend, while the latest part of the one-two punch dropped 22.5 inches on Baltimore, Maryland; 15.8 inches on Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and about 10 inches on Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia; Central Park in New York; and Atlantic City, New Jersey, the National Weather Service said.

Records for total snowfall for the season have been set at Dulles International Airport west of Washington, with 72 inches; Philadelphia, with 70.3; Baltimore, with 70.1; Reagan Washington National Airport, with 55.6; and Atlantic City, with 48.7, according to the weather service.

In the aftermath of what some are calling "Snowmageddon," most power had been restored. Potomac Electric Power Co. said nearly all of its customers in metropolitan Washington will have had their power restored by early Friday evening.

"We're cautiously optimistic," PEPCO spokesman Bob Hainey said Thursday. "Our goal is to get everyone back on as soon as possible."

Dulles International Airport and Reagan National Airport reopened Thursday, after closing to flights Wednesday afternoon.