Storm hits Southeast with snow, freezing rain

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A storm brought snow, sleet and freezing rain to the Southeast on Thursday, shutting down schools and government offices and forcing the cancellation of a visit here by President Bush. The unsettled weather in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky left up to 6 inches of snow in some places, with a second wave in the forecast that could add several inches overnight. In Georgia, which got up to 4 inches in northern counties, high winds brought down trees and power lines, knocking out electricity to as many as 61,000 homes. Most of them were in the Atlanta area, which got up to 2 inches of snow.

Power was restored to most customers by the afternoon.

Snowy, wet weather in South Carolina made for treacherous driving. Slick roads were blamed for two fatal wrecks in which vehicles slid into the paths of oncoming trucks. State troopers investigated nearly 600 accidents.

Some of the heaviest snow fell in North Carolina's Sandhills, in the south-central part of the state. At one point, snow fell at 2 inches an hour, reducing visibility and forcing officials to send workers home from the Army's Fort Bragg in Fayetteville.

The president canceled a visit to Charlotte.

Schools across much of the region sent students home. Forecasts called for more snow overnight.

John Towe, 53, walked out of a Charlotte hardware store with a plastic sled in hand.

"I told the kids I wasn't coming home without a sled," he said. "And I took a vacation day -- it couldn't be any better. We're going to play in the snow."

Meanwhile, heavy rain along the West Coast raised fears of flooding and mudslides, particularly in sections of Southern California that were burned bare by wildfires last fall. San Bernardino County piled sandbags and set up concrete barriers.

In Irvine, Calif., rescue workers were trying to determine if a body found in an aqueduct was that of a driver whose car went off a highway in heavy rain.

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On the Net:

National Weather Service: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov

Intellicast: http://www.intellicast.com

AccuWeather: http://www.accuweather.com