Galapagos tortoises stay warm under a heater inside the tortoise barn at the Austin Zoo, Monday Jan. 27, 2014, in Austin, Texas. Zookeepers are using hay, blankets, tarps and heaters to protect their animals from the next cold snap. There's a 20 percent chance of a wintry mix for Central Texas while flurries are possible for the Panhandle. (AP Photo/Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner) AUSTIN CHRONICLE OUT, COMMUNITY IMPACT OUT, MAGS OUT; NO SALES; INTERNET AND TV MUST CREDIT PHOTOGRAPHER AND STATESMAN.COM.
January 28, 2014 - 2:09 AM
ATLANTA - A blast of freezing precipitation expected to arrive Tuesday could scatter snow and ice across the Deep South, prompting officials from New Orleans to North Carolina to ready road crews and close some schools.
Popular warm-weather tourist destinations including Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Ga., Pensacola, Fla., and New Orleans are expecting ice and even snow — both rare occurrences in places that seldom see prolonged sub-freezing temperatures.
Delta Air Lines officials say more than 1,800 flights have been cancelled ahead of a winter storm expected to pelt areas of the Southeast with sleet and snow.
Forecasters were predicting snow and ice from Texas to the Carolinas by mid-week as precipitation moving in from the South met with cold air already chilling the region.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014