SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
A massive winter storm is sweeping across the Southern United States and making its way into the Northeast. Just over a million homes and businesses are without power as a result of snow and freezing temperatures across several states. WEKU's Stan Ingold is in Richmond, Kentucky, which is now covered in ice, and he joins us now. Hi, Stan.
STAN INGOLD, BYLINE: Hey.
MCCAMMON: So what do things look like there where you are?
INGOLD: Well, we had at least some kind of precipitation since yesterday afternoon. It started off as snow, but last night it turned into sleet and freezing rain. And that's been fairly constant throughout the day. That led to dangerous conditions, like ice-covered roads. Many businesses are closed, and a lot of people are staying off the roads for the most part. This particular storm system is supposed to be out of Kentucky, though, by tomorrow morning. But you know, Governor Andy Beshear said that that doesn't necessarily mean that the emergency is over.
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ANDY BESHEAR: I wouldn't think of it that way. I wouldn't think of it being gone because if it dumps a ton of ice and it gets really cold, that ice is going to stay, and it's going to stick. And so you ought to think about the difficult and dangerous conditions extending into next week.
INGOLD: Now, road crews and linemen across the region are working around the clock to clear roads and restore power, and warming centers have been set up all across Kentucky and other states that have been in the path of this storm. And already, many government offices and schools have announced that they'll be closed on Monday.
MCCAMMON: So what's the biggest concern going forward?
INGOLD: Well, right now, it's power outages from Texas to Virginia, and this leaves some people in dire straits. You know, just in Mississippi, there was around 175,000 people without power early this morning. Matt Hackworth, who lives in Oxford, Mississippi - he lost power at his home last night. This morning, he stepped outside the check on his neighborhood, and, you know, this is what he saw.
MATT HACKWORTH: You take a step outside and look at this ice, all the tree limbs are covered with this thick, rich, bright ice that is no doubt heavy. Every tree limb that I can see out my window right now is bowed over like an archer's bow.
INGOLD: And Hackworth is warming his home with gas logs. He's a pastor, and he says that he knows many others in Mississippi that are relying solely on electric heat who lost their power. But it's not all just ice and snow. You know, there's also been reports of severe thunderstorms and even possible tornadoes in eastern Alabama today near the border with Georgia.
MCCAMMON: You know, forecasters are saying this storm is moving northeast. What else can we expect?
INGOLD: Well, a cold front is expected to follow this storm and keep temperatures below freezing in many areas for several days. And this is contributing to major disruptions in travel. That includes around 11,000 flights being canceled over the weekend. Airlines canceled around 90% of their flights at National Reagan and around 84% of the flights at LaGuardia in New York, according to the aviation analytics company, Cirium. The airlines are already canceling additional flights for Monday.
Now, yesterday, President Trump approved emergency declarations for Kentucky and nine other states. Now, that includes Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana and West Virginia. And it looks like New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Washington, D.C., have also declared states of emergency. The National Weather Service is forecasting heavy snow for the Northeast, and total snow accumulations could be anywhere between 12 and 20 inches. And some areas could even see up to 24 inches across the Northeast.
MCCAMMON: OK. WEKU's Stan Ingold in Richmond, Kentucky. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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