海角大神

A deadly winter storm聽gripped the聽southeastern United States聽on Wednesday, crippling travel, grounding flights, knocking out power to 363,000 customers and encasing magnolia and palmetto trees in ice.

The weather was blamed for at least 13 deaths in the region, including three people killed when an ambulance transporting a patient skidded off an icy road in Carlsbad,聽Texas.

Winter storm聽warnings and advisories were in place from聽Arkansas聽east to much of the Atlantic coast, the National Weather Service said. The storm聽is expected to sock the聽northeastern United States聽in the next two days with up to 15 inches (38 cm) of snow.

"We definitely consider this to be a high-impact event, and we're definitely telling everyone to stay off the roads and stay inside as much as possible," said聽Carl Barnes, a weather service forecaster in聽Sterling,聽Virginia.

Snow and freezing rain that pummeled聽South Carolina聽and聽North Carolina聽created a dangerous commute for drivers in a hurry to get home as the snowfall got heavier and the ice thickened.

A possibly historic accumulation of ice as well as heavy snow was expected to add up to nearly 8 inches (20 cm) of frozen precipitation for聽Charlotte,聽North Carolina, and 9 inches (23 cm) were forecast for聽Spartanburg,聽South Carolina, meteorologists said.

More than an inch (2.5 cm) of ice was possible from central聽Georgia聽into聽South Carolina聽by Thursday morning, according to forecasters.

Traffic on interstate highways ground to a halt, and at least one snow plow went off a聽North Carolina聽highway into a ditch.

Todd Pekks, a chef at聽Duke University, was just half a mile (800 meters) into his drive home to聽Raleigh聽when he began to skid so badly he gave up, his wife聽Sherri Pekks聽said.

He made his way back to work on foot, and returned to the kitchen, she said.

"He's definitely gone for the night. I wonder if he'll be able to make it back tomorrow," Pekks said.

Fatal road accidents were reported in聽Mississippi聽and South Carolina. In聽Georgia, a man died of exposure near his home in聽Butts County, south of聽Atlanta, and聽North Carolina聽Governor Pat McCrory told CNN two people had died in weather-related incidents.

States of emergency聽

Governors declared states of emergencies from聽Louisiana聽to聽New Jersey, and hundreds of schools, colleges and offices throughout the region shut down. The basketball game between archrivals聽Duke University聽and the聽University of North Carolina聽was called off.

About 6,700 U.S. flights were canceled or delayed on Wednesday, and another 3,700 were scrubbed for Thursday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com. About half of the Thursday flights to and from Washington and New York were called off.

The U.S. Department of Energy reported that 363,000 power customers were without electricity as of mid-afternoon. More than a third of them were in聽Georgia, where some residents may have to wait up to a week for power to be restored, said聽Georgia聽Power spokeswoman聽Amy Fink.

About 5,000 people were without power in Birmingham,聽Alabama, with more than 6 inches (15 cm) of snow expected. Roads were closed across the northern part of the state, authorities said.

In the path of the storm, the聽White House聽delayed a Thursday event to mark the launch of My Brother's Keeper, a campaign to help young black men. Federal offices in Washington were closed.

Washington city officials authorized a $15 snow surcharge for taxi rides to encourage cabbies to stay on the road. In New York, the MTA Metro-North train system was to operate on a reduced schedule on Thursday.

Most motorists in聽Georgia, where thousands were stranded in their vehicles during the last weather front, stayed off the roads after a state of emergency was declared, Governor Nathan Deal said.

Vehicles that did venture out were soon coated with ice, their radio antennas looking like ice skewers, television images showed.

Shelters were opened in聽Georgia,聽Alabama聽and聽North Carolina聽to help those stranded by the storm.

(Additional reporting by Harriet McLeod, Jon Herskovitz, Karen Jacobs, Scott DiSavino, Dave Warner, Verna Gates and Marti Maguire.; Writing by Colleen Jenkins, Ian Simpson and Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Gunna Dickson and Ken Wills)