Freezing rain, snow spreads to Northeast as South shivers
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By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer, NBC News Forecasters warned Wednesday that ice storms would continue to hit parts of the South, while freezing rain and snow were also affecting much of the Northeast. The National Weather Service issued a string of winter weather advisory notices early Wednesday, covering parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington D.C., and some of New England. Advisories were also issued early Wednesday and late Tuesday for parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Virginia and Louisiana. "Freezing rain will continue through Wednesday morning in parts of the South, mainly across the Lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys," the NWS said on its website. Some areas may see as much as an inch of ice, which is especially bad news for the Memphis air hub of Federal Express. NBC's Brian Williams reports. "Meanwhile, snow is likely across the northern Mid-Atlantic states and southern New England. Rain, heavy at times, will bring a risk of flash flooding to parts of the Southeast, from northern Alabama to southwestern Virginia," it added. The Weather Channel reported that 1 to 6 inches of snow was possible Wednesday from northern Pennsylvania to Maine. It said a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain was expected from northern Kentucky to southern New England Wednesday. The Weather Channel also said there was a snow threat to lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys and the southern Appalachians. It added that flooding was likely from northern Alabama and Georgia to western and northern Virginia, with moderate to heavy rain was likely to hit parts the South and Mid-Atlantic states through Thursday. Up to 3 inches of rain was expected in some areas. NBCNewYork.com reported that New York City and the nearby suburbs should expect up to an inch of slushy accumulation as a result of sleet and snow overnight. North and west of the city was expected to get accumulations of 2 to 4 inches of snow are possible by Wednesday morning, it said. However, the station added that most of the snow, sleet and rain should be over with by early Wednesday afternoon. NBCConnecticut.com reported that the snow was expected to fall until at least midday Wednesday, with 3 to 6 inches likely to fall in the interior of the state and 1 to 3 inches along the coast. On Tuesday, officials in Tennessee declared a state of emergency as ice storms hit. "When you start putting that much ice on roadways and power lines, it's not going to be good," Jeremy Heidt, a spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, told Reuters. |