Winter storm brings heavy snow, flight cancellations to Southeast

Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A winter storm brought snow totals above a foot to some portions of North Carolina and Virginia Sunday, prompting thousands of power outages and flight cancellations.

Portions of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee reported snow totals greater than 6 inches, with high terrain areas in southwestern North Carolina near Saluda reporting 18.5 inches, according to The Weather Channel.

Asheville Regional Airport had also reported about 9.8 inches of snow by Sunday morning, contributing to flight cancelations throughout the affected areas.

A total of 1,666 within, into, or out of the United States today were canceled and 1,417 more were delayed Sunday, according to flight tracking website Flight Aware.

Most of the canceled or delayed flights were traveling into or out of North Carolina, South Carolina or Virginia.

As many as 383,341 people were without power in the South East including 246,524 outages in North Carolina and 99,571 in South Carolina, according to Power Outage.US.

North Carolina and Virginia's governors have declared states of emergency Saturday ahead of the incoming brunt of the winter storm.

The National Weather Service warned that snow "will make travel very hazardous or impossible."

On Sunday, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper warned hours of snow and ice were still to come.

"Enjoy the beauty, but respect the danger," he said. "Don't be fooled, this storm is treacherous."

Heavy snow will continue or develop in the southern Appalachians Sunday night, while the storm will mostly dissipate by Monday, leaving lingering pockets of snow or a rain-and-snow in the area.