Wednesday January 2 12:53 PM ET
Snow, Sleet Fall Across the South
By The Associated Press
Highways were slippery from Louisiana into South Carolina on Wednesday as snow and sleet fell across the South. The weather was blamed for two deaths.
Up to 3 inches of snow fell in parts of southern Mississippi, and Montgomery, Ala., got about 4 inches during the morning, that city's most significant snowfall since the blizzard of 1993, the National Weather Service (news - web sites) said.
For some youngsters, it was a revelation.
``This is the best snow of my entire life,'' said 10-year-old Sam Emerson of Lafayette, La. ``It never snowed like this ever before.''
The light accumulation was a far cry from the nearly 7 feet that paralyzed Buffalo, N.Y., last week, but Southern drivers have less experience with slippery roads.
Two traffic deaths were blamed on snow-covered highways in southern Mississippi, said Highway Patrol dispatcher Heather Sullivan. And because of accidents in Louisiana, state police closed parts of Interstates 10 and 55 at Baton Rouge and Hammond. Alabama state troopers said sections of I-65 around Montgomery were hazardous.
``People here don't know how to drive when it's raining,'' Mike Mason said in Montgomery, Ala. ``If citizens of Montgomery can't handle wet roads, how will they handle an icy one?''
``Whether we get an inch or 4 inches it doesn't make a whole lot of difference. It pretty much locks things down,'' said emergency management official Hugh Atkins in Rome, Ga.
Sleet and snow flurries also had moved into South Carolina by midmorning and motorists were warned to expect slippery highways.
``The number of accidents double and sometimes triple in snowy weather,'' said South Carolina Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Bryan McDougald.
For youngsters, however, the snow around Montgomery was perfect, wet and soft and just right for making snowballs and snowmen.
``I think this is fabulous,'' said Tara Carter as she and her husband, Chip, helped 6-year-old son Austin and a neighbor make a large snowman with a Mardi Gras hat, carrot nose, Oreo cookies for eyes and pecans for buttons.
``This is the best snowman I've ever seen,'' Austin said.
The chill was expected to continue after the snow stops falling, with lows in the low to mid-20s likely into Thursday as far south as southwestern Louisiana, said weather service meteorologist Kent Kuyper in Lake Charles, La. ``This might be our cold spell of the year,'' Kuyper said.
By comparison, the coldest spot in the nation was Laramie, Wyo., with a low of 29 below zero Wednesday morning, the weather service said.
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On the Net:
National Weather Service:
http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov
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