Major winter storm: South braces for big blast of snow, ice

By SUDHIN THANAWALA and JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Forecasts of snow and ice as far south as Georgia have put much of the Southeast on an emergency preparedness footing as shoppers strip store shelves of supplies and road crews treat highways ahead of an approaching weekend storm. In Virginia, where a blizzard left thousands of motorists trapped on clogged highways earlier this month, outgoing Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency. Counterparts in the Carolinas and Georgia did likewise. Forecasters predict parts of Tennessee could get as much as 12 inches of snow, and northern Mississippi and parts of Alabama could receive light snow — with higher accumulations possible in northeast Georgia from Saturday evening through Sunday.