Storm causes rain, wind in South, ice, snow in mid-Atlantic

ATMORE, Ala., March 17 (UPI) -- A storm system caused major damage in Alabama and brought rain to Florida, and snow and hazardous travel in mid-Atlantic states Monday, Accuweather.com said.

The St. Patrick's Day storm closed the federal government and many schools in the Washington, D.C. area. More than 7.2 inches of fluffy snow was on the ground at Reagan International Airport at dawn, the Washington Post reported.

Before it moved east, the storm damaged buildings and homes in Atmore, Ala., Sunday morning. Tornadoes were seen across Escambia County, and a suspected tornado destroyed two stores in Atmore, WKRG-TV, Mobile, said.

No injuries were reported.

Broken power poles caused outages in Atmore and in Mobile, both cities in southwestern Alabama. Beth Thomas, spokeswoman for Alabama Power, said only 10 residents remained without power Sunday night.

The storm brought severe thunderstorms to Florida Monday, concentrating on central counties of the Florida peninsula, an area popular with college students, families on spring break, and fans of Major-League Baseball spring training, Accuweather.com said.

The same storm system delivered snow and caused deteriorating travel conditions Sunday night from West Virginia to southern New Jersey.

Sleet in the Richmond, Va., area caused 1,500 power outages, Dominion Electric reported.