Snow brings cities across South to standstill
NEW: "This is amazing," CNN iReporter says of snowfall in Dallas-Fort Worth area
States from Texas to Georgia expected to get more snow than they usually see
Flights canceled in Atlanta; Dallas-Fort Worth gets 12.5'' of snow, a 24-hour record
Are you snowed in? Send us your iReports to tell how you're staying warm and digging out
Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- State offices and schools shut down, flights were grounded, and cities put emergency crews to work Friday throughout much of the South as a powerful winter storm marched across the region.
Throughout Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia, where several inches of snow were expected Friday, officials sounded warnings to residents to be careful -- and, in many cases, to stay off the roads.
"My husband and I haven't seen snow since we were stationed in Massachusetts, and my children have never seen it," Sara Johnson in Wilmer, Alabama, said in a CNN iReport as the first flakes began to fall Friday morning.
The weather system pounded parts of Texas on Thursday, leaving a record 12.5 inches in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The National Weather Service said the 24-hour total in the area topped the previous record of 12.1 inches set in 1964.
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"For the DFW Metroplex, this is amazing," CNN iReporter Brent Dow said.
See Dow's photo of a Texas-size snowman
Fellow iReporter Ben Hernandez in Dallas sent photos of a collapsed carport at his parking complex.
West of Dallas, in Irving, Texas, Michael Whiteside was awakened at 2:45 a.m. Friday "to the sound of my patio roof collapsing from the weight" of the snow, he said in a CNN iReport.
Early Friday, Susan Sharman in Bastrop, Louisiana, said in an iReport that she "couldn't believe it when I looked outside and saw all the snow coming down. I haven't seen snow like this in Bastrop in over eight years."
With snow and ice blanketing parts of the state Friday, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour ordered state offices closed south of U.S. 82, which crosses the state north of its midpoint.
"This is a time to be safety-minded and to check in on your elderly and housebound neighbors to make sure they have what they need to get through this winter storm," he said in a written statement. Barbour had declared a state of emergency Thursday.
In Louisiana, Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis announced state government offices were closed in 42 parishes.
Yasamie Richardson of Alabama Emergency Management told CNN that conditions could be "very, very dangerous" and the likelihood of power outages was "very great." She said authorities were encouraging people to prepare for the possibility of losing electricity.
Officials in Georgia were bracing for enough snow to paralyze parts of the state.
"We are really preparing for the worst, but it could turn out to be a small event," said Landry Merkison, battalion chief of Clayton County's fire department.
Charles Moss, a truck driver in the area, said the county is going to need more than the two gravel trucks it has ready. "If they don't get some help, Clayton County will be shut down," he told CNN affiliate WGCL.
But in parts of the South where snowfall is rare, some residents were skeptical of the forecasts Thursday.
"I'm dubious," said John Hogan, a college professor who's planning to lead a Mardi Gras parade in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Friday night despite forecasts of up to 2 inches of snow and ice there. "It snows here once every 15 years, so what's the likelihood?"
Friday morning, the National Weather Service described conditions in Baton Rouge as "snow fog/mist."
John DeMiller, owner of the Petit Bois Grocery in Biloxi, Mississippi, was also skeptical.
"To be honest, we don't believe it's going to snow," he said Thursday. "It just never does."
The National Weather Service reported only a light rain over the city Friday morning, although a chance of late afternoon snow remained in the forecast.
Hundreds of Atlanta flights were canceled for Friday as the storm began to bear down on the area.
Delta Air Lines canceled about 800 flights into and out of Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, and AirTran Airways canceled 32 flights ahead of the storm, according to representatives of the airlines.
There was some relief in sight for the South. Warmer weather was melting the snow Friday in Dallas, and temperatures in the 40s were expected to move through the rest of the region over the weekend.
The Southern states were getting a smaller dose of what their Northeastern and mid-Atlantic counterparts have had to put up with this past week, digging out from a pair of record-setting blizzards.
The first storm dumped more than 30 inches of snow in some places last weekend, while the latest part of the one-two punch dropped 22.5 inches on Baltimore, Maryland; 15.8 inches on Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and about 10 inches on Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia; Central Park in New York; and Atlantic City, New Jersey, the National Weather Service said.
Records for total snowfall for the season have been set at Dulles International Airport west of Washington, with 72 inches; Philadelphia, with 70.3; Baltimore, with 70.1; Reagan Washington National Airport, with 55.6; and Atlantic City, with 48.7, according to the weather service.
