ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� 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 .
Arkansas and North Carolina mobilized their National Guards for tasks such as helping stranded motorists, as governors in multiple states declared states of emergency. for millions of children from Texas to Georgia and as far east as South Carolina.
The storm piled up more than a year鈥檚 worth of snowfall on some Southern cities. As much as a foot (about 31 centimeters) fell in parts of Arkansas. There were reports of nearly 10 inches (about 25 centimeters) in Little Rock, a city that averages 3.8 inches (9.7 centimeters) a year.
More than 7 inches (about 18 centimeters) fell at Memphis International Airport in Tennessee since late Thursday. The city usually sees 2.7 inches (6.9 centimeters) a year.
Farther south and east into Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, a wintry mix of sleet, snow and ice made travel treacherous.
The heavy wet stuff also packed into a pretty good snowball.
In Atlanta, Mikayla Johnson, 12, was out making snow angels and snowmen her day off from school.
鈥淢y first thought was, 鈥榃ow!鈥欌�� said Mikayla, who was outdoors with her father, Nate. 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had snow since I was, like, 4 鈥� good snow, at least. So I was really happy.鈥�
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 the world's busiest airport, according to flight tracking software FlightAware. Controllers declared a ground stop before 8 a.m., meaning no planes could land or take off.
Four passengers were injured after a Delta plane bound for Minneapolis in the morning, according to a statement from the Hartsfield鈥揓ackson Atlanta International Airport. One passenger was hospitalized, while three people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
The incident contributed to further delays, although Delta said it was unclear whether the weather had anything to do with the flight aborting its takeoff. The airline 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 on three American Airlines flights that were diverted from Dallas-Fort Worth spent the night at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock.
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 in the Cotton Bowl.
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 .
The cold snap coincided with tearing through the Los Angeles area.
Southern discomfort
As much as 8 inches (about 20 centimeters) of snow 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 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 largest school district, Memphis-Shelby County Schools with more than 100,000 students, closed all schools Friday. Tours at Graceland, Elvis Presley鈥檚 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鈥檛 used to driving in the snow, but the U.S. Postal Service trained him, so now he鈥檚 鈥渘ervous, but confident.鈥� Just drive slow and be careful, he added.
鈥淭his is like, 鈥榃ow!鈥� This is a lot of snow,鈥� 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 . The storm鈥檚 trajectory overlaps with much of the western North Carolina area impacted by 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鈥檚 water treatment facility, which 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; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City; Isabella O鈥橫alley in Philadelphia; Olivia Diaz in Richmond, Virginia; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
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Read more of the AP鈥檚 climate coverage at .
Kate Brumback And Travis Loller, The Associated Press
