Massive winter storm continues to dump snow across the South

(ATLANTA) — A massive winter storm is blanketing the South with ice and record-breaking snow, with some cities seeing the most snowfall from a single storm in decades.

Twenty states, from Texas to Delaware, were on alert Friday for snow and ice as the storm continued to move across the South.

The storm has prompted governors to declare states of emergency, including in Texas and Georgia, to prepare for and respond to the severe weather.

Some states have seen a foot or more of snow during the storm.

Parts of Arkansas have seen 14 inches of snow in the storm. Seven inches have fallen in Little Rock, the most in four years.

Portions of Oklahoma and Texas have gotten 12 inches of snow. Oklahoma City had 3.5 inches of snow, a daily record, while Amarillo, Texas, saw 9.5 inches, the most in 10 years.

Mississippi has seen 7 inches of snowfall, while Alabama has gotten 6 inches, as it continues to snow in the states. Birmingham saw 2 inches of snow — the most in 11 years.

Memphis, Tennessee, has gotten 7 inches of snow, the most snow in a single day in 40 years.

Atlanta has so far seen 2 inches of snow, the most in seven years, in the storm. Several communities north of Atlanta measured up to 5 inches from the storm.

Warming stations have been activated throughout Georgia as the state experiences sub-freezing temperatures. Those located in the North Georgia Mountains were near capacity as of Friday morning, according to Gov. Brian Kemp.

“If you’re looking for a place, you may want to go south versus north, if you can,” Kemp said during a press briefing.

Amid the storm, tens of thousands of customers were without power across the Southeast, with Texas and Arkansas experiencing the bulk of the outages.

The storm is also affecting travel. More than 2,700 flights across the country were canceled as of early afternoon Friday, with Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas and Nashville seeing the biggest impacts.

Officials across the South have warned of treacherous travel conditions due to snow and ice on the streets.

Public schools in Atlanta and Memphis were closed Friday due to the inclement weather.

Snow and ice are expected to reach the Carolinas and the East Coast on Friday evening, with heavy snow and ice forecast for Charlotte, Asheville and Raleigh. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency on Thursday, ahead of the storm.

“At this time, our greatest concern is road safety,” he said during a briefing Friday. “Precipitation and freezing temperatures tomorrow afternoon and night will make a mess of our roads Saturday morning.”

Overnight, snow will move into the mid-Atlantic, including Richmond, Virginia, with some snow possible in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.

Richmond remains under a water boil advisory after a power outage impacted operations at a water treatment plant during a storm earlier this week.