Winter storm hits mid-South hard
January 30, 2010 3:47 p.m. EST
Asheville, North Carolina, gets record 11 inches of snow
Cary, North Carolina, cancels winter festival because of winter storm
Ice and sleet cover roads in Tennessee, Carolinas
Storm got rolling earlier in Texas and Oklahoma
(CNN) -- A storm that barreled into the Southeast and sections of the Northeast coated power lines and roads with ice and left thousands of residents without power.
More heavy snow was forecast for Mid-Atlantic cities, some of which already have record amounts, the National Weather Service said Saturday.
Asheville, North Carolina, reported a record 11 inches of snow on Friday, burying the record of 6 inches in 1930.
The weather service said less than half an inch of snow should fall during the day, turning to freezing drizzle at night. There was an ice storm warning for the Carolinas until midnight.
"Ice accumulations of one-quarter to one-half inch are expected," forecasters said. "Elevated surfaces such as trees, power lines and highway bridges and overpasses will accumulate ice most easily."
North Carolina's Department of Transportation asked motorists to avoid all unnecessary travel.
The town of Cary, North Carolina, canceled its Winter Wonderland festival because of the storm.
Video: Snow falls on Tennessee A foot of snow was expected in parts of Virginia. It also was snowing in Washington and Baltimore, Maryland, where 4 to 8 inches were forecast.
Forecasters warned that gusty winds in several states may topple ice laden trees and power lines.
A Home Depot store in Spartanburg, South Carolina, saw a run on generators, fire logs and ice-melting chemicals Friday, and Spartanburg County called in extra dispatchers to handle emergency calls, CNN affiliate WYFF reported.
Watch the snow pile up in Tennessee
Several inches of sleet covered the ground in the town of Traveler's Rest, South Carolina, WYFF's Sean Muserallo reported.
Brian Wood of Marietta, South Carolina, told WYFF his car was "fish-tailing all the way" as he drove to work at a restaurant Saturday morning. "It's definitely not driving weather."
Tennessee's Transportation Department said highways statewide had patches of snow and ice, and trucks were spreading salt on roads across much of the eastern part of the state.
The storm moved north and east Friday from the Southern Plains of Oklahoma and Texas. Oklahoma City was coated with ice and shivering with a daytime high of 20 degrees, said CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis. In Dallas, Texas, it was 26 degrees.
In northern Georgia on Saturday, about 2,900 customers were without power, down from 5,000 earlier today, the Electric Membership Cooperatives said in a written statement. They said the outages were caused by trees falling on power lines, and that power should be restored by late afternoon.
School systems and communities in northeastern Georgia also canceled numerous weekend activities, CNN affiliate WNEG reported.
