A road grader pushes snow and ice to the side of the Hudson Memorial river bridge in Decatur, Ala. on Christmas morning, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Residents of Decatur awoke to a rare Christmas morning snow.
A man on Tunnel Road tries unsuccessfully to keep his car from sliding into another vehicle near Charels C. Bell School Elementary School in Asheville, N.C. on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Much of North Carolina was under a winter storm warning.
A man on Tunnel Road tries unsuccessfully to keep his car from sliding into another vehicle near Charels C. Bell School Elementary School in Asheville, N.C. on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Much of North Carolina was under a winter storm warning.
An overturned SUV lies in a snowy ditch along I-40 East in North Carolina at mile marker 48 on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Much of North Carolina was under a winter storm warning.
An overturned SUV lies in a snowy ditch along I-40 East in North Carolina at mile marker 48 on Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Much of North Carolina was under a winter storm warning.
Aaron Curtis, of Atlanta, throws a stick for his dogs, Boone, right, and Einstein, as they play in the snow in Atlanta's Piedmont Park Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Snow, sleet and icy rain began falling Saturday morning in some parts of north Georgia, and the wintry mix descended on metro Atlanta in the afternoon.
Aaron Curtis, of Atlanta, throws a stick for his dogs, Boone, right, and Einstein, as they play in the snow in Atlanta's Piedmont Park Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Snow, sleet and icy rain began falling Saturday morning in some parts of north Georgia, and the wintry mix descended on metro Atlanta in the afternoon.
Aaron Curtis, of Atlanta, walks through the snow with his dogs, Boone, left, and Einstein, in Atlanta's Piedmont Park Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Snow, sleet and icy rain began falling Saturday morning in some parts of north Georgia, and the wintry mix descended on metro Atlanta in the afternoon.
Aaron Curtis, of Atlanta, walks through the snow with his dogs, Boone, left, and Einstein, in Atlanta's Piedmont Park Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Snow, sleet and icy rain began falling Saturday morning in some parts of north Georgia, and the wintry mix descended on metro Atlanta in the afternoon.
Sahin Tetik, of Atlanta, jogs as snow falls in Atlanta's Piedmont Park Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Snow, sleet and icy rain began falling Saturday morning in some parts of north Georgia, and the wintry mix descended on metro Atlanta in the afternoon.
Sahin Tetik, of Atlanta, jogs as snow falls in Atlanta's Piedmont Park Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Snow, sleet and icy rain began falling Saturday morning in some parts of north Georgia, and the wintry mix descended on metro Atlanta in the afternoon.
A duck swims in the lake of Piedmont Park as snow falls against the skyline of midtown Atlanta Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Snow, sleet and icy rain began falling Saturday morning in some parts of north Georgia, and the wintry mix descended on metro Atlanta in the afternoon.
A duck swims in the lake of Piedmont Park as snow falls against the skyline of midtown Atlanta Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. Snow, sleet and icy rain began falling Saturday morning in some parts of north Georgia, and the wintry mix descended on metro Atlanta in the afternoon.
Brandon Locklear, left, Jeff Orrock, meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Raleigh, N.C. track down the snowstorm moving into the Triangle area Saturday evening, Dec. 25, 2010.
Brandon Locklear, left, Jeff Orrock, meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Raleigh, N.C. track down the snowstorm moving into the Triangle area Saturday evening, Dec. 25, 2010.
Eleven-year-old twins, Cameron and Danielle Whitlock, make a snowman in their front yard in Decatur, Ala. on an unusually snowy Christmas morning, Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010. After blanketing parts of the Midwest and hampering motorists there on Christmas Eve, the storm dipped south late Friday. Winter weather advisories were in effect Saturday morning from Arkansas to the Carolinas and from West Virginia to central Alabama. Much of North Carolina was under a winter storm warning.
Joe Gallegos smashes a block of snow onto friend Mike Covert, right, while Gavin Gallegos, 6, left, and Elizabeth Reed look on at White Oak Park in Chattanooga, Tenn., Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010.
Joe Gallegos smashes a block of snow onto friend Mike Covert, right, while Gavin Gallegos, 6, left, and Elizabeth Reed look on at White Oak Park in Chattanooga, Tenn., Saturday, Dec. 25, 2010.
A band of frigid weather snaking its way up the East Coast on Sunday threatened to bring blizzards and a foot of snow to New York City and New England, while several states to the South made emergency declarations as the storm caused crashes on slick roads.
Airlines grounded hundreds of flights Sunday along the Northeast corridor in anticipation of the storm, affecting major airports including New York's JFK and Newark. Airlines said more cancellations were likely as the storm progressed. Travel misery began a day earlier in parts of the South, where a rare white Christmas came with reports of dozens of car crashes.
In Washington transportation officials pretreated roads and readied 200 salt trucks, plows and other pieces of equipment to fight the 6 inches or more expected to fall in the Mid-Atlantic region.
The Northeast is expected to get the brunt of the storm. Forecasters issued a blizzard warning for New York City for Sunday and Monday, with a forecast of 11 to 16 inches of snow and strong winds that will reduce visibility to near zero at times. A blizzard warning was also in effect for Rhode Island and most of eastern Massachusetts including Boston, with forecasters predicting 15 to 20 inches of snow. A blizzard warning is issued when snow is accompanied by sustained winds or gusts over 35 mph.
As much as 18 inches could fall on the New Jersey shore with wind gusts over 40 mph.
Baltimore and Washington were expected to get 6 inches or more of snow, with surrounding areas forecast to have as many as 9, the weather service said.
By early Sunday, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina declared states of emergency. Amtrak canceled several of its trains in Virginia.
"Winds with gusts up to 45 miles per hour will cause blowing snow and that's going to cause the worst of it," Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell told The Weather Channel Saturday night. "We're urging extreme caution in travel. Try to get home early and if you don't have to travel don't go."
Major airlines were canceling flights in the storm's path Sunday. Continental Airlines canceled 250 departures from Newark Liberty International Airport outside New York City. United Airlines canceled dozens of Sunday departures from Newark, Philadelphia, New York's LaGuardia and JFK, Boston and other airports. AirTran and Southwest Airlines also canceled flights, mostly in or out of Washington Dulles, Baltimore and Newark.
Delta Air Lines spokesman Kent Landers said the airline proactively canceled about 850 mainline and regional flights systemwide Sunday because of the weather. He said that represents about a sixth of the daily total.
"Most cancelations are concentrated from the Carolinas through New York," he said.
Mary Sanderson at American Airlines said flights through Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia would likely be canceled after 2 or 3 p.m. Sunday, with and late starts expected Monday morning.
Most carriers were waiving fees for one-time changes in affected areas and urging passengers to make changes through their websites.
The monster storm is the result of a low pressure system off the North Carolina coast that will strengthen into a major storm as it moves northeast, according to the National Weather Service.
Delaware and Philadelphia braced for up to a foot of snow predicted to fall from Sunday into Monday and authorities urged people to avoid traveling if possible.
Early Sunday, winter storm warnings stretched from Georgia through New England.
The white Christmas in the South was one for the record books. Columbia, S.C., had its first significant Christmas snow since weather records were first kept in 1887. Atlanta had just over an inch of snow ? the first measurable accumulation on Christmas Day since the 1880s.
The North Carolina Highway Patrol said late Saturday that most of the roads in and around Asheville were either covered or partially covered with snow and ice. Emergency management spokeswoman Julia Jarema said troopers in the two dozen westernmost counties answered 350 calls in 18 hours Saturday. Most were wrecks.
"We're busy," Ryan Dean of Dean's Wrecker Service in Raleigh, NC, said Sunday. "We've been out since 3 in the morning pulling people out of the ditch."
Still, transportation officials in South Carolina had deployed more than 200 plows, salt trucks and other equipment.
In Pensacola, Fla., Jena Passut faced a quandary. The 36-year-old magazine writer drove with her husband and two kids from Fairfax, Va., to visit relatives. On Saturday afternoon she worried about how to get back home amid the snow.
"Should we leave on Christmas night? My kids are normally good travelers, but if it's going to take us twice as long, it's going to be hell," she said. "I like a white Christmas as much as anyone, but I don't want to drive in it."
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Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Kristin M. Hall in Nashville; Page Ivey in Columbia; Karen Hawkins in Chicago; Warren Levinson and Verena Dobnik in New York City; David Goodman in Detroit; Eileen Sullivan and Samantha Bomkamp in Washington; Michelle Price in Phoenix; Dylan Lovan in Louisville; Leonard Pallats and Greg Bluestein in Atlanta; and Mark Pratt in Boston.
Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131750766&ft=1&f=
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