AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
For the second time in as many weeks, a major winter storm has pushed into the southeast, bringing rare, heavy snowfall and major travel disruptions to parts of northeast Georgia and the Carolinas. Meanwhile, tens of millions of people across the South are under extreme cold warnings today. Joining us now is Nick de la Canal, from member station WFAE in Charlotte, where residents are digging out from more than 11 inches of snow. Good morning, Nick.
NICK DE LA CANAL, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha.
RASCOE: Now, I'm a North Carolina girl, so I know that much snow is rare for Charlotte and North Carolina in most of the parts...
CANAL: Yes.
RASCOE: ...Out of the mountains. How are people reacting?
CANAL: Yes, with a lot of excitement, it has been years since the city has seen this much snow, although it's not unprecedented. Charlotte got 13 inches back in 2004. But as you said, it is unusual to see so much heavy, powdery snow all at once. I spoke to some families who were sledding at a park yesterday, and you can really hear the disbelief.
CHASE DUNN: It doesn't look like you're in Charlotte right now, honestly. It looks like something you'd expect from, like, the Northeast.
MARIA STEVENS: It's really, like, a Christmas movie, but a month delayed (laughter).
SEAN PUTMAN: We never get this. Once in a lifetime.
CANAL: (Laughter) Yeah, so that was Chase Dunn (ph), Maria Stevens (ph) and Sean Putman (ph), who is 11 years old, by the way. So for him, this really was once in a lifetime.
RASCOE: Yeah, definitely once in a lifetime. Snowballs and sledding aside, the storm also caused some serious problems. Tell me about the roads there.
CANAL: Yeah, absolutely. Well, keep in mind, this is a region that isn't used to this much snow, and the roads really did become dangerous. We saw an incident just outside Charlotte where a tractor-trailer got stuck on some train tracks and was hit by a train. Officials say no one was injured. Also the National Guard was deployed after a wreck shut down I-85 north of Charlotte, stranding about a hundred vehicles. All told, North Carolina officials reported 750 collisions yesterday, even as they urged drivers to stay off the roads unless it's an emergency. There were also major disruptions to air travel too. Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed at the Charlotte and Atlanta airports.
RASCOE: Forecasters are calling this storm a bomb cyclone. So pretty intense. What does that mean, and so what should people be watching out for today?
CANAL: Yeah, it does sound dramatic. But a bomb cyclone just means the storms strengthen rapidly when this cold, arctic air collided with warmer air here in the south. The technical term is actually bombogenesis, if you want to get nerdy about it. Now, I spoke with Richard Bann, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, who says the storm has largely moved offshore by now, but much of the South is now under an extreme cold warning, and that could be the bigger danger today.
RICHARD BANN: It's going to remain cold, and there's going to be a lot of wind, so people need to be more worried about the cold, bundling up and not over-exerting as you go out to clear the snow.
CANAL: Also along the coast, forecasters are watching for flash flooding as the snow starts to melt.
RASCOE: OK. What's being done to keep people warm during today's freezing temperatures?
CANAL: We have seen cities opening warming shelters and homeless shelters are also expanding capacity. Here in Charlotte, the shelters are not turning anyone away this weekend. So far, widespread power outages have been limited, so hopefully people will stay warm in their homes. But with the high winds and bitter cold today, that could change.
RASCOE: That's Nick de la Canal with member station WFAE in Charlotte. Thank you so much.
CANAL: Thank you for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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