South braces for another winter storm
From the Deep South to the Mid-Atlantic, another winter storm was expected to bring more snow and ice Wednesday to many areas that were hit hard just last week. Part of the system was also forecast to hit the Midwest.
Schools, daycares and offices closed ahead of the storm and governors once again declared states of emergency. The most intense part of the storm was forecast for north Texas eastward to North Carolina and Virginia. Snow accumulations could be 6 to 8 inches or higher in some places.
By early Thursday, forecasters said, relief in the form of higher temperatures is expected.
Here's a look at how winter weather has affected some areas:
DELAYED EXECUTION
Georgia delayed the execution of its only female death row inmate because of the approaching winter weather. Kelly Renee Gissendaner, 46, had been scheduled to die at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Gissendaner was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband. Prosecutors said she plotted with her boyfriend in the killing.
The execution has been rescheduled for Monday.
SLEET FALLS ON ALABAMA
About 55 miles northeast of Birmingham in Etowah County, Josie Hicks fretted about the safety of her 3-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son.
Hicks said the pipes already were frozen at the family's apartment in Attalla, and she was worried the power could go out. So with sleet already bouncing off car hoods outside, Nicks made a quick trip to Walmart for milk, bread and other food that didn't have to be cooked, and 1-gallon jugs of water.
"I wouldn't mind having some snow for the babies to play in but I don't want them to be freezing," said Hicks. "I'm worried about my babies being warm."
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BUSY STORES
Janet Robinson was trying to stay one step ahead of a storm that threatened to dump up to 8 inches of snow across the Carolinas.
So she made a trip late Wednesday morning to a Greenville, South Carolina, grocery store and picked up the staples - milk, bread - then grabbed batteries for her flashlights and candles, just in case she loses power. The store was packed and items were flying off the shelves, she said.
"I guess everyone was watching the weather channel," quipped Robinson, the 35-year-old mother of two.
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BETTER PREPARED
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said he was very confident in the state's preparations.
Following a January 2014 ice storm that crippled metro Atlanta, Deal convened a task force to make recommendations of how to better prepare. He said Wednesday that state agencies have ably handled three weather situations in the last 10 days.
"I believe the lesson we are learning even of this morning as we noted the smaller volume of traffic on the interstates is that the public is willing to be a participating partner," he said.
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ARE YOU DELIVERING?
The manager of a sandwich shop in Shreveport, Louisiana, says it's been delivering more food this week because of the bad weather.
"The first question asked when you answer the phone is 'Are you delivering?"' according to Alli Walsh, who manages a Jimmy John's in Shreveport.
Walsh said she has up to six delivery workers who are running multiple orders at a time. Shreveport could get up to 3 inches of snow.
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TRAFFIC PILEUP
Near Bangor, Maine, more than 40 vehicles crashed on a snowy stretch of Interstate 95 on Wednesday, injuring at least 11 people, police said.
Emergency personnel climbed on top of cars to reach motorists stuck in the middle of the chaotic mass of vehicles.
The pileup involved cars, a school bus and a tractor-trailer, state police spokesman Steve McCausland said. No deaths were immediately reported. McCausland said some of the injuries were serious.
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SPEAK BRIEFLY, WEATHER IS COMING
Georgia lawmakers are working on a shortened schedule Wednesday at the Capitol in Atlanta. House Speaker David Ralston urged long-winded members to "disincline yourself" ahead of the ice or snow that was forecast to reach north Georgia by mid-afternoon.
"The key word is going to be 'with dispatch,"' Ralston said, referring to legislators speaking quickly and effectively.
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MILESTONE FOR BOSTON
With 1.9 inches of snow overnight, Boston has now received more than 100 inches of snow this winter.
The National Weather Service reported Wednesday that the snowfall as recorded at Logan International Airport is now 101.8 inches for the season.
That makes this winter the second snowiest on record, behind only the 107.6 inches recorded in the winter of 1995-96.