WeatherFanatics: LIVE: Dangerous Travel Conditions Continue from Southern Winter Storm

By Mark Leberfinger, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

January 28,2014; 9:55PM,EST

A once-in-10-years storm continued to spread freezing rain, sleet and snow across a wide swath of the South on Tuesday.
"From the Baton Rouge, La., to Mobile, Ala., area, some snow will mix in at the end of the storm, but the main concern is sleet and freezing rain that will lead to extremely treacherous travel and possible power outages," AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said. "Bridges and overpasses will be the first to turn icy."
Up to 10 inches of snow or more are possible in parts of northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia into Wednesday, AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck said. Norfolk, Va., and Elizabeth City, N.C., are some of the cities in the path of the snow.
Power outages are possible from Columbia to Charleston, S.C., AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Randy Adkins said. Near blizzard conditions are also possible in the Tidewater and Norfolk, Va., areas.
On Monday, Louisiana's governor declared a state of emergency for the state due to the dangerous winter conditions forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday. Additionally, all government offices and public schools were ordered to close Tuesday.
States of emergency were also declared in Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The wintry weather expanded eastward across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and the mid-Atlantic coast through Tuesday night.
Hazardous travel will span the heavily traveled I-10 and I-95 corridors. Numerous roads have been closed and many motorists were reported stranded.
Late Tuesday, thousands of flights had already been cancelled at airports across the South, including George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Schools closed on Tuesday in many locations across the South, including in Houston, New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. Many schools will remain closed Wednesday.

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UPDATES (All times are listed in Eastern Time):

10:35 p.m. EST Tuesday: Trained spotter for NWS reports 3" of snow on the ground in Norfolk, VA as of 10:06 PM EST.
9:40 p.m. EST Tuesday: Ice storm in Abbeville, Ala., the 911 call center reported. Numerous roads have become hazardous for travel. One power outage was reported after a transformer malfunctioned.
9:35 p.m. EST Tuesday: More than 9,000 Gulf Power residents without electricity in Florida; More than 900 Georgia Power Co. customers were also without electricity; and 410 SCE&G customers were without service in the Charleston, S.C. area.
9:20 p.m. EST Tuesday: Ben Sawyer Bridge in Charleston, S.C. is closed, Mount Pleasant Police said.
9:10 p.m. EST Tuesday: Freezing rain has changed over to snow at Columbia, S.C., airport, according to airport weather observations.
8:50 p.m. EST Tuesday: 0.15 inches of freezing rain was reported by an NWS employee near Charleston, S.C.
8:30 p.m. EST Tuesday: Ravenel Bridge in Charleston, S.C., is now closed, Mount Pleasant Police reported. Webcam of bridge from S.C. DOT.

8:00 p.m. EST Tuesday: Georgia Department of Transportation urged motorists to stay off of highways as conditions continue to deteriorate overnight.
7:50 p.m. EST Tuesday: Tuscaloosa, Ala., City Hall is closed on Wednesday, the city reported. Tuscaloosa Transit Authority said its buses will not operate Wednesday.
7:35 p.m. EST Tuesday: Alexandria, La., breaks a 110-year-old record with 1.2 inches of snow on Jan. 28. The old record was 1 inch, which was set in 1904, the National Weather Service at Lake Charles, La., said.
7:15 p.m. EST Tuesday: I-10 from the New Mississippi River Bridge (including the bridge) in Baton Rouge to New Orleans is closed both eastbound and westbound, Louisiana State Police said.
7:05 p.m. EST Tuesday: More than 11,000 Gulf Power customers were without power around Pensacola, Fla.; another 1,800 Duke Energy Progress customers were without service in eastern North Carolina; 700 customers of Dominion Virginia Power lost power around the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area, the utilities reported.
6:45 p.m. EST Tuesday: "There are a lot of areas with very big problems tonight," AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Frank Strait said. The South is being impacted by snow, sleet and freezing rain, causing dangerous travel across the region.
6:20 p.m. EST Tuesday: George County, Miss., and the City of Lucedale have issued a curfew beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday and ending at 7 a.m. Wednesday.
6:10 p.m. EST Tuesday: I-10 is closed in both directions at the Twin Span Bridge due to icy conditions in New Orleans, Louisiana Department of Transportation said.
5:55 p.m. EST Tuesday: One and a half inches of sleet has fallen four miles west-northwest of Purvis, Miss., Lamar County Emergency Management Office said.
5:35 p.m. EST Tuesday: About 8,500 Gulf Power Co. customers were without power near Pensacola, Fla. the utility reported.
5:25 p.m. EST Tuesday: Travel conditions are dangerous in Alabama, the state's EMA said in a video.
5:10 p.m. EST Tuesday: North Carolina Gov. Pat. McCrory declared a state of emergency for his state.
4:50 p.m. EST Tuesday: The Alabama House of Representatives was unable to do any business today because it failed to reach a quorum due to the winter storm. The House is scheduled to reconvene on Thursday.
4:45 p.m. EST Tuesday: More than 3,400 flights have been canceled as of late Tuesday afternoon as a result of the winter weather, according to FlightStats.
4:20 p.m. EST Tuesday: Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley activates 350 Alabama National Guardsmen and urges residents to stay off roads if at all possible.
4:15 p.m. EST Tuesday: The entire Deep South continues to be impacted by severe winter weather, AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck said. There are especially problems from Houston to New Orleans with ice, and the I-10 corridor from Pensacola, Fla., to New Orleans.
4:05 p.m. EST Tuesday: Ice on the palm trees in Orange Beach, Ala.
4:00 p.m. EST Tuesday: Four inches of snow near Puckett, Ala., NWS employee reported.
3:50 p.m. EST Tuesday: The Wilkes Bridge in Gulfport, Miss., is closing due to ice buildup Harrison County Emergency Management Agency said.
3:45 p.m. EST Tuesday: Only emergency travel advised in Choctaw, Washington, Clarke, Monroe, Conecuh, Wilcox, Butler and Crenshaw counties, Alabama Emergency Management Agency reported.
3:35 p.m. EST Tuesday: Crashes occurring on a very slick Interstate 26 near Saluda, N.C., according to fire department reports.
3:05 p.m. EST Tuesday: At least 7,000 Louisiana electric customers have lost service because of the storm, Entergy Louisiana and Beauregard Electric Co-op reported.
1:40 p.m. EST Tuesday: Multiple traffic accidents across Hendersonville, N.C., the local 911 call center reports.
1:17 p.m. EST Tuesday: More than 1,230 flights have been delayed or canceled today at the Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to FlightStats.
12:50 p.m. EST Tuesday: Snow began accumulating in Wilkesboro, N.C. Wilkes County Schools dismissed students at 11:30 a.m. EST to prepare for the storm.

Courtyard at Wilkesboro Elementary School. (Photo/Amy Will)
12:35 p.m. EST Tuesday: More than half of an inch of sleet layered on roads and bridges in Lawrence County, Miss., local emergency manager reports. Travel conditions hazardous.
12:20 p.m. EST Tuesday: Watch the entire AccuWeather LIVE noon show below:
12:15 p.m. EST Tuesday: The sleet and snow mixture that was falling in Harris County, Texas, 2 miles east of downtown Houston, has transitioned to snow, a trained spotter reported.
12:05 p.m. EST Tuesday: Snow is coating roadways in parts of Mississippi:
11:45 a.m. EST Tuesday: In Jackson, Ala., the bridge over Tombigbee River on Highway 43 is iced over and subject to closure, the local emergency manager reports.
11:40 a.m. EST Tuesday: Most of the Walthall County, Miss., bridges are iced over, according to the local emergency manager. One-quarter to 0.5 of an inch of sleet has already fallen, and precipitation is changing over to snow.
11:31 a.m. EST Tuesday: A trained spotter reports ice accumulating on cars and exposed metal in Harris County, Texas, as freezing rain and sleet fall.
11:25 a.m. EST Tuesday: Highway 431 in Albertville, Ala.:
10:35 a.m. EST Tuesday: Sleet and freezing rain reported across Rapides, Calcasieu, Avoyelles, St. Landry and Lafayette parishes in Louisiana.
10:30 a.m. EST Tuesday: Bridge on Alabama Highway 10 over Tombigbee River is closed due to icy conditions in Choctaw County, Ala., the local emergency manager reports.
10:22 a.m. EST Tuesday: Northern portions of the St. Helena Parish is glazed over from freezing rain, the local emergency manager reported. Precipitations has since changed over to sleet in the area.
10:10 a.m. EST Tuesday: Chambers County, Ala., law enforcement reports the bridge on I-85 to be completely frozen over 3 miles south of Huguley, Ala. Numerous vehicle wrecks have been reported.
10:00 a.m. EST Tuesday: The Louisiana Department of Highways reports LA-8 closed in Boyce, La., due to icy conditions.
9:15 a.m. EST Tuesday: More than 1,000 arrival and departure cancellations already reported at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. More than 600 arrival and departure cancellations have occurred at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
7:35 a.m. EST Tuesday: Sleet reported in Morehead City and Newport, N.C., by an NWS employee.
6:50 a.m. EST Tuesday: Bridges on Highway 61 near Vicksburg, Miss., are covered by sleet and ice, according to the Emergency Manager.
6:00 a.m. EST Tuesday: Law enforcement in Brookhaven, Miss., reported dense fog and freezing rain in the area at the time of a car accident.
Note: Thumbnail photo: Vehicles are backed up on a snow covered U.S. Highway 280 during a snow storm, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, in Chelsea, Ala. (AP Photo/Hal Yeager)

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