Powerful winter storm dumps heavy snow, causing flight delays, slick roads and school closings

ATLANTA (AP) — A powerful winter storm that dumped heavy snow and glazed roads with ice across much of Texas and Oklahoma lumbered eastward into southern U.S. states Friday, making for dicey travel and a rare snow day for many students.

Arkansas and North Carolina mobilized their National Guards for tasks such as helping stranded motorists, as governors across multiple states declared states of emergency. School was canceled for millions of children across a wide tract of southern states from Texas to Georgia and as far east as South Carolina.

The storm had already piled up more than a year's worth of snowfall on some southern cities. As much as a foot (about 31 centimeters) of snow fell in parts of Arkansas. Little Rock has reports of nearly 10 inches, a city that averages 3.8 inches a year.

Six inches had already coated Memphis, Tennessee, from late Thursday into Friday morning, and heavy, wet flakes were still falling. The city usually sees 2.7 inches a year.

Farther south and east into Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, a wintry mix of sleet, snow and ice made travel treacherous.

Mikayla Johnson, 12, was out making snow angels and snowmen in Atlanta on her day off from school.

“My first thought was, WOW!” said Mikayla, who was outdoors with her father, Nate. “We haven’t had snow since I was like 4 — the good snow, at least. So, I’m really happy.”

The storm dumped as much as 7 inches (about 18 centimeters) in some spots in central Oklahoma and northern Texas.

And in the Kansas City area, students were back at school in several districts Thursday after three straight snow days, only to see classes called off again Friday because of more snow.

Snow began falling in metro Atlanta before dawn, leading to hundreds of flights being cancelled and hundreds more delayed at Atlanta’s airport, according to flight tracking software FlightAware. Controllers declared a ground stop before 8 a.m., meaning no planes could land or take off. Atlanta, a major hub for Delta Air Lines, is the world’s busiest airport.

Four passengers were injured after a Delta Air Lines plane bound for Minneapolis aborted takeoff on Friday morning, according to a statement by officials at the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

One passenger was hospitalized, while three people were treated at the scene for minor injuries. The incident contributed to further delays at the airport, although Delta said it was unclear whether the weather had anything to do with the flight aborting its takeoff. Delta said there was an indication of an engine issue.

Other airports with significant delays and cancellations included those in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dallas-Fort Worth and Nashville. Fifty-five passengers who were on three American Airlines flights that were diverted from Dallas-Fort Worth spent the night at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock on Thursday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott urged residents to avoid driving if possible. Some 75,000 fans were expected Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington for the college football championship semifinal between Texas and Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

The polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually spins around the North Pole, but it sometimes ventures south into the U.S., Europe and Asia. Some experts say such events are happening more frequently, paradoxically, because of a warming world.

The cold snap coincided with rare January wildfires tearing through the Los Angeles area.

Southern discomfort

As much as 8 inches (about 20 centimeters) of snow was forecast in parts of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia through Saturday, the weather service said. Snow and ice were likely to accumulate across metro Atlanta on Friday, making roadways treacherous and possibly causing power outages.

More than 1 million public school students in metro Atlanta and north Georgia got a snow day or were at home learning online.

After a disastrous snowstorm in 2014 that left thousands of Atlanta-area workers and schoolchildren stranded overnight away from home, officials in Georgia were quick to cancel in-person classes and close offices Friday.

Georgia emergency officials said they learned lessons from past Atlanta ice storms. During this storm, crews are towing vehicles stalled in the snow, which was a massive problem during past ice and snow storms when interstates and roads became clogged with stalled cars and trucks, said James Stallings, director of Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

Many schools canceled classes Friday in Alabama's northern half, where state roads were largely covered in snow or ice and some were already impassible, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Friday morning.

Tennessee's largest school district, Memphis-Shelby County Schools with more than 100,000 students, closed all schools Friday. Tours at Graceland, Elvis Presley’s former home-turned-museum, were canceled Friday, a spokeswoman said.

Joe Feliciano tromped over snowy sidewalks to deliver mail in Nashville on Friday. The Florida native isn’t used to driving in the snow, but the U.S. Postal Service trained him, so now he’s “nervous, but confident.” Just drive slow and be careful, he added.

“This is like, ‘Wow!’ This is a lot of snow,” said Feliciano, who moved to Tennessee in 2023.

Parts of South Carolina were seeing their first wintry weather in three years. The state Department of Transportation treated interstates and other major highways from Columbia northward, but vehicles were slipping off icy Interstate 95 south of the city. Some schools closed Friday.

With snow, sleet and freezing rain expected across North Carolina, a public outdoor inauguration ceremony Saturday in Raleigh for Gov. Josh Stein and other statewide elected officials was canceled. The storm’s trajectory overlaps with much of the western North Carolina area impacted by Hurricane Helene last year.

The snowstorm was expected to arrive Friday evening in Richmond, Virginia. Mayor Danny Avula said officials brought in extra resources to monitor the city’s water treatment facility, which suffered a multiday outage following a snowstorm from earlier in the week, including a new backup battery and additional water filters.

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Loller reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press reporters Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Jeff Martin in Kennesaw, Georgia; Makiya Seminera in Raleigh, N.C.; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville; Isabella O’Malley in Philadelphia; Olivia Diaz in Richmond, Virginia; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.

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