Snow Blankets South; Cold Grips Midwest, East

Snow and strong winds socked the South on Thursday, snarling travel and closing schools, as a record cold held its grip on the Midwest and East.

Record low temperatures for the date were reported in 11 cities, from Grand Rapids, Mich., where it was 15 below zero, to Baltimore, where it was 8 degrees.

The temperature plunged to 39 below zero at Tower, Minn., and 21 below at Rochester, Minn.

Snow stretched from eastern Kansas to the Atlantic Coast, with nearly a foot reported in parts of Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi, 10 inches in North Carolina and 9 inches in Alabama.

Great Lakes to East Coast

The National Weather Service predicted that snow and bitter cold would occur from the Great Lakes to the Middle Atlantic coast and New England today.

First Lady Nancy Reagan canceled a trip to Nashville, Tenn., where more than 5 inches of snow fell. She had been scheduled to tour a drug abuse prevention program and attend a performance at the Grand Ole Opry House.

Thousands of homeless people flocked to already crowded shelters, prompting authorities to open armories and state buildings.

North Carolina Gov. James G. Martin ordered all of the state’s 101 National Guard armories to remain open for the duration of the storm for those needing refuge.

Thirty people spent the night in a McDonald’s restaurant near Walters, Okla., using borrowed blankets and pillows and sleeping wherever they could. The storm dumped up to a foot of snow on parts of Oklahoma.

Flights Delayed, Canceled

Many flights were delayed or canceled in Atlanta, Nashville and Memphis, Tenn., and in North Carolina. In South Carolina, Greyhound canceled bus service in Greenville and Columbia, and Greenville-Spartanburg Airport opened and closed throughout the day. City buses were not running Thursday in Birmingham, Ala.

Freezing rain, sleet and snow at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport stranded thousands of passengers, who were forced to spend the night in lounges, bars and even in parked airplanes because no hotel rooms were available. American Airlines spokesman Al Becker said about 200 of American’s 350 flights were canceled.

Officials closed schools Thursday in parts of Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, northern Mississippi, Missouri and Kansas.

In north Georgia, some snow plow operators gave up trying to clear mountain roads of up to 11 inches of snow.

“The highway department is parked,� Ron DeLong of Blairsville said. “It’s falling so fast the roads are covered over about as soon as they scrape.�

Accidents Throughout South

The storm closed stretches of highways and caused hundreds of traffic accidents throughout the South, where snow and ice turned highways into skating rinks.

“People in the South are just not accustomed to driving on it,� weather service forecaster Newton Skiles said. “It’s been so long since we’ve had this much snow, there may actually be some new drivers who have never driven on snow and ice. It definitely creates a lot of problems for people in the South.�