Parts of South brace for first snow in decade
Winter storm warnings span the Gulf Coast states; Interstate-49 shut in La.
PENSACOLA, Fla. - It took back-to-back blizzards to paralyze the nation’s capital, but in the Deep South it only takes a couple inches of snow.
Flakes were falling — or threatened — Friday from Texas to the Florida Panhandle and then up along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, bringing a rare white landscape to spots that haven’t seen snow in a decade or longer. The storm was crawling east out of Texas, where it left the Dallas area with more than a foot of snow, nearly 200 traffic accidents, thousands without power and hundreds of canceled flights.
Far less snow was falling in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, though the effect was still crippling.
Just the anticipation of an inch of snow was enough to close schools in the Florida Panhandle, while classes also were canceled in parts of Alabama. Nearly two-dozen school districts closed across Georgia because of the snow forecast.
In Century, about 40 miles north of Pensacola, 44-year-old Steve Pace scraped some of the remnants of a brief snowfall from the hood of his truck and formed a snowball to throw at his grandson, 6-year-old Kaleb. It only snowed for about 10 minutes before giving way to rain again, but it was enough for Kaleb.
“I’ve only ever seen snow on TV till now,” Kaleb said, smiling.
The southern Alabama city of Andalusia had recorded its largest snowfall since 1973 — 2 inches as of Friday morning. The city of 8,800 near the Florida line was getting ready to close its streets because of snow, which no one could remember happening before, said city building inspector Micah Blair.
Snow for Valentine's Day
“Our pine trees and all are starting to weight up and lean over,” Blair said. “Tonight when it gets into the 20s and trees start popping, we could have problems.”
Along the Florida-Alabama line, Therman Benson pointed at the snow buildup on the back of his car and laughed as he filled up at a gas station.
“We didn’t get snow for Christmas, but we are getting it for Valentine’s Day,” he said.
Snow began falling late Thursday in southwest Alabama and was still coming down Friday morning, with as much as 2 inches already on the ground, said George T. Moss, owner of the 15-room Timberland Motel in Chatom, about 60 miles north of Mobile.
“I got up this morning and my pickup was just covered,” said Moss. “I’m sitting here looking out over my property, 30 or 40 acres, looking at ponds and my property, a deer. It’s just real pretty.”
Winter storm warnings span the Gulf Coast states; Interstate-49 shut in La.
PENSACOLA, Fla. - It took back-to-back blizzards to paralyze the nation’s capital, but in the Deep South it only takes a couple inches of snow.
Flakes were falling — or threatened — Friday from Texas to the Florida Panhandle and then up along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, bringing a rare white landscape to spots that haven’t seen snow in a decade or longer. The storm was crawling east out of Texas, where it left the Dallas area with more than a foot of snow, nearly 200 traffic accidents, thousands without power and hundreds of canceled flights.
Far less snow was falling in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, though the effect was still crippling.
Just the anticipation of an inch of snow was enough to close schools in the Florida Panhandle, while classes also were canceled in parts of Alabama. Nearly two-dozen school districts closed across Georgia because of the snow forecast.
In Century, about 40 miles north of Pensacola, 44-year-old Steve Pace scraped some of the remnants of a brief snowfall from the hood of his truck and formed a snowball to throw at his grandson, 6-year-old Kaleb. It only snowed for about 10 minutes before giving way to rain again, but it was enough for Kaleb.
“I’ve only ever seen snow on TV till now,” Kaleb said, smiling.
The southern Alabama city of Andalusia had recorded its largest snowfall since 1973 — 2 inches as of Friday morning. The city of 8,800 near the Florida line was getting ready to close its streets because of snow, which no one could remember happening before, said city building inspector Micah Blair.
Snow for Valentine's Day
“Our pine trees and all are starting to weight up and lean over,” Blair said. “Tonight when it gets into the 20s and trees start popping, we could have problems.”
Along the Florida-Alabama line, Therman Benson pointed at the snow buildup on the back of his car and laughed as he filled up at a gas station.
“We didn’t get snow for Christmas, but we are getting it for Valentine’s Day,” he said.
Snow began falling late Thursday in southwest Alabama and was still coming down Friday morning, with as much as 2 inches already on the ground, said George T. Moss, owner of the 15-room Timberland Motel in Chatom, about 60 miles north of Mobile.
“I got up this morning and my pickup was just covered,” said Moss. “I’m sitting here looking out over my property, 30 or 40 acres, looking at ponds and my property, a deer. It’s just real pretty.”
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