Atlanta — A storm glazed the South with snow and sleet Wednesday, delighting children but knocking out power and making roads treacherously slick from Louisiana to the Carolinas.
Forecasters predicted up to 8 inches of snow for parts of the region and warned that a hard freeze overnight would make today's morning commute even more dangerous. Up to a foot of snow was possible in North Carolina.
Three deaths were blamed on icy roads in Mississippi, and airlines canceled dozens of flights in Atlanta. In South Carolina, state workers were sent home early and told not to report to work today.
S.C. Gov. Jim Hodges called up the National Guard on Wednesday night to aid stranded motorists. Some 15,000 utility customers had lost power, and outages could worsen overnight as snow or ice accumulated, said Mary Green Brown, spokeswoman for South Carolina Electric & Gas.
"If we stick with snow, we'll be OK," she said. "We could have major problems if ice and sleet fall on that snow."
Pat Logan headed to a Sumter, S.C., supermarket to grab provisions for her family.
"You don't want to be out of milk. Basically you need the staples," she said. "I'm going to get lighter fluid and charcoal because I remember the lights going out before."
In a region where people were golfing and playing tennis in 70-degree weather just last month, Southerners turned out to build modest snowmen and go sledding down hills where snow covered still-green grass. Temperatures dropped into the 20s.
More than 170 people crammed into a Tallahassee, Fla., shelter to escape the cold.
"They're on the floor, they're in the dining room in sleeping bags, on mats," shelter director Mel Eby said. "We're putting them in any nook and cranny we can find."
Some businesses closed for the day, extending the New Year's holiday, and South Carolina state employees in Columbia were sent home around noon.
"This is beautiful," June Carlson said as she dodged snowballs from her 4-year-old daughter, Rachel, at an ice rink in Atlanta. "We just got back from New York. There was no snow at all up there, and this is what we came home to. We're thrilled."
Southern Mississippi recorded 3 inches of snow, and Montgomery, Ala., got 4 inches the most in that city since a blizzard nine years ago dumped half a foot. Snow and sleet in Alabama fell to within about 100 miles of the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico, and a freeze warning was posted along the coast for today.
In Montgomery, the Carter family and a neighbor fashioned a distinctively Southern snowman with a Mardi Gras hat, a carrot nose, Oreo cookies for eyes and pecans for buttons.
"This is the best snowman I've ever seen," declared 6-year-old Austin Carter.
Georgia deployed long-dormant snow trucks to spread gravel and salt. Hartsfield Atlanta, the world's busiest airport, opened 12 deicing pads for planes. Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines said it planned to cancel up to 250 flights, and AirTran Airways canceled 15 flights.
Schools in the Carolinas canceled classes Wednesday and today. By nightfall, 2 inches of snow had fallen in Charlotte and Raleigh had a dusting.
The snowfall hardly compared with the nearly 7 feet that paralyzed Buffalo, N.Y., last week, but Southern drivers have less experience with slippery roads.
Louisiana state police closed parts of Interstates 10 and 55 because of accidents. In Mississippi, Highway Patrol Master Sgt. Walter Armstrong reported: "We've literally had wrecks on top of wrecks. We even had two patrol cars to be hit."
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