After heavy snow struck the South, the Northeast was expected to face severe weather throughout the weekend. Pictured: Drivers deal with snow conditions in Detroit in January 2014.
(Reuters)
Storms that yielded recording-breaking snowfall in the South during the week were expected to hit the Northeast on Friday evening and continue causing problems throughout the weekend.
Winter Storm Benji was moving up the East Coast, with heavy snow predicted for a 2,000-mile stretch from the Deep South to New England. Some spots could see as much as 10 to 15 inches of snow, forecasters said.
Winter weather warnings were issued Friday for parts of Massachusetts and Northern Virginia, with travel expected to be hazardous in the Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metro areas.
The South saw unprecedented levels of snowfall from Texas to North Carolina — resulting in power outages, frozen roadways and numerous auto accidents. Many areas closed schools during the week.
On Thursday, Delta Air Lines canceled hundreds of flights coming in and out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – the busiest in the world. Atlanta was to be under a winter storm watch until 10 a.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service said.
Other weather trackers warned of frozen roadways in southern Mississippi and Louisiana through the weekend. Cities in Mississippi reported some of the highest levels of snow on record.
Houston was the first city to report record-breaking snowfall, as cold temperatures combined with moisture off the Gulf of Mexico to hit border communities.
The National Weather Service issued winter weather warnings throughout the South.
