By The Associated Press
This is the sunny South?
Another 3
inches of snow blanketed northern Georgia early Tuesday on the
heels of a wintry weekend of snow, ice and bone-chilling temperatures
in much of the South and Midwest.
Temperatures
in northern Georgia were forecast to peak in the 20s on Tuesday,
with lows near 10 degrees--and wind chills as low as zero. The
snowfall was the region's second in three days.
``We generally
don't get snow this early but we've been enjoying it,'' said Lewis
Lane, who works at Sky Valley Ski Resort in northeast Georgia.
More cold
and snow were also forecast Tuesday in neighboring Tennessee,
where at least 28 of the state's 95 counties closed schools Monday.
Several schools announced that they planned to stay closed Tuesday.
Elsewhere
in the South, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee declared disaster areas
in 41 counties nearly a week after what state officials said was
the worst ice storm in state history. Some 40,000 homes were still
without power Monday.
``I've just
been quilting by the light of the window during the day and go
to bed when it gets dark,'' said Kitty Watson, 73, whose home
has been without electricity since last week. ``And my goodness,
I must've gained 10 pounds in the past week cause you know, you
bake when you're bored.''
In Alabama,
freezing rain, snow and a second day of cold closed dozens of
schools Monday and sent homeless to shelters across the state.
The state was still recovering from weekend tornadoes that killed
12 people.
In Nebraska,
blowing and drifting snow was expected to linger into Tuesday
morning as the state continued to dig out from its fourth winter
storm in a week.
Low visibility
caused by blowing snow temporarily closed two Nebraska highways
Monday night. Earlier, slick roads and poor visibility were blamed
for a pileup involving five semitrailers, two cars and a snowplow.
Only minor injuries resulted.
Up to 17 inches
of snow were predicted for parts of Wisconsin by Tuesday, with
lighter amounts expected in Minnesota, Illinois and Indiana.
``The last
couple of years we haven't seen this kind of weather until January,''
Paul Lichte said as shoveled the sidewalk in front of his father's
Madison, Wis., law office Monday. ``It's nice to have snow at
Christmas, so this year we know for sure we'll have some.''
The storm
was a nightmare for travelers. Nearly a quarter of the flights
at Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee were canceled or
delayed Monday and more than 100 Northwest flights were delayed
in and out of Minneapolis-St. Paul.
United canceled
72 of its 414 scheduled departures from O'Hare in Chicago; systemwide,
the airline canceled 167 of its daily schedule of 2,300 flights
because of the weather.
American Airlines
canceled about 45 departures and arrivals, said spokeswoman Mary
Frances Fagan. But after last week's massive storms, the airline
was confident it could handle a few more inches of snow.
``Three to
five inches after 12 inches? We will deal with it,'' Fagan said.
``This is Chicago, and it snows here.''
Bad weather
also delayed three Electoral College members from getting to the
Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul. They later showed up in time to
vote.
Winter weather
was nowhere to be found in Southern California, where unseasonable
heat combined with dry, windy weather to create prime conditions
for wildfires. An arsonist torched a car early Monday morning,
setting off a blaze that burned nearly 500 acres in the Los Padres
National Forest, 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
The wildfire,
and others that broke out Monday, caused no injuries or property
damage. The region's dry, hot conditions were expected to persist
for several days.
The warm weather
was welcome news to Christine Lloyd, an Australian working at
a restaurant in Malibu, Calif.
``I was out
in the back yard, hosing off the pool chairs, in just shorts and
T-shirt, having a great time,'' she said. ``Me being a Sydney
girl, it's 80 degrees, it looks like a real Christmas to me.''
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