Winter storm warnings US South
© The Weather ChannelWinter storm warnings have been issued for parts of Texas
Winter Storm Inga unloaded snow and ice on much of the South Tuesday and Wednesday, and with frigid temperatures moving in behind the snowstorm, travel in the region has been all but shut down and at least 100,000 homes and businesses were in the dark.

At least seven deaths have been blamed on the winter storm. Authorities in Bibb County, Georgia, confirmed a fatal crash caused by wintry conditions killed two people Wednesday morning along Interstate 75, and the roadway was shut down the road for an extended period of time. On Tuesday afternoon, a woman died in a crash on Interstate 64 in Cabell County, West Virginia, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

In Metairie, Louisiana, a baby died after a vehicle crashed into a canal, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The mother remains in critical condition following the crash that was likely caused by icy roads, the report added. The governor's office announced three more deaths caused by the storm.

Three other deaths were blamed on the brutally cold weather that rushed in behind the storm. Officials in Houston reported two deaths from cold-weather exposure and Memphis authorities said there was one confirmed fatality.

Hundreds of flights were canceled across the South again on Wednesday, including in Atlanta and Charlotte, where the former was in a ground stop in the morning hours and the latter was facing multi-hour delays.

Residents were urged to stay home and off the roads as several Southern cities attempted to avoid a repeat of recent "Snowpocalypse" events, when hundreds of thousands of motorists were stranded on icy roadways for several hours. Nevertheless, officials reported hundreds of accidents on slick roads in the metro Atlanta area on Wednesday


"If you don't have to be on the road, please don't be on the roads," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Tuesday. "For the next 24 hours, it's going to be somewhat treacherous out there."

The storm even got the best of retired race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who tweeted Wednesday that he crashed his car after stopping to help others at a different crash scene. The accident occurred in Mooresville, North Carolina; neither Earnhardt nor the people involved in the other crash suffered injuries, according to the AP.

From Texas to the Carolinas, widespread school closures were reported as officials attempted to keep children home and safe from the hazardous travel conditions. The snow stretched all the way down to Florida, where bridges were closed in the panhandle as they became covered in snow and ice.


The storm also prompted governors to declare states of emergency in Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina. In Alabama, every public school system was closed statewide Wednesday, giving nearly 727,000 students the day off, according to AL.com. The University of Alabama announced it would resume normal operations at noon Wednesday, but urged students and faculty to use their best judgment about traveling to the Tuscaloosa campus.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said during a Wednesday weather briefing that all residents should head home and not wait for the evening rush hour because conditions were expected to worsen throughout the day. The State Highway Patrol told the AP that there were more than 500 crashes Wednesday morning in North Carolina, and at least 700 calls for service.

Government offices were closed Wednesday in parts of western and central South Carolina, according to the Associated Press. Inga forced Gov. Henry McMaster to postpone his first State of the State address to Jan. 24, and a State Senate meeting was also canceled, the report added.

Pileups Reported Across the South

Winter Storm Inga was believed to be the reason for a 10-vehicle pileup on Interstate 85 northeast of Atlanta Wednesday morning, according to WXIA-TV. It wasn't immediately known if there were any injuries, but I-85 was shut down as a result of the collision. The roadway reopned several hours later.

Interstate 65's southbound lanes were shut down in central Kentucky near Bonnieville because of a multi-vehicle wreck that injured at least seven passengers on a Greyhound bus, WAVE-TV reported. At least two tractor-trailers and two cars were also involved in the collision that closed the freeway for five hours, the report added.

North Carolina Highway Patrol Commander Col. Glenn McNeill said Wednesday that the patrol responded to roughly 1,600 vehicle collisions and 2,200 calls for service, AP reports. Cooper said no one was seriously injured in the weather-related accidents.

Later Tuesday morning, another pileup was reported along Interstate 22 near Red Banks, Mississippi, according to the South Reporter. WREG.com said six semi trucks and possibly other vehicles were involved in the wreck, but no injuries were reported.


Travel Problems Abound in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi

In cities like Austin, Houston and San Antonio, authorities urged residents to stay off roads that quickly iced over because of Inga, and many bridges quickly became hazardous as precipitation fell Tuesday. Ramps were shut down and crashes were reported in the Austin area Tuesday morning, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport had nearly 800 cancellations into and out of the hub Tuesday, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. Dozens more flights were canceled at Houston's William P. Hobby Airport. All non-emergency city services were suspended Tuesday in Houston.

The Houston Independent School District - the largest school district in the state - canceled classes Tuesday and Wednesday, as did several other large Texas cities. The University of Texas and Texas State University also closed because of the storm.

More than 63,000 homes and businesses in Texas were without power at the height of the storm Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.us. Wednesday morning, a combined 60,000 customers remained in the dark in Texas and Louisiana.


In Shreveport, Louisiana, where measurable snow fell for the first time since 2015, both directions of Interstate 49 were closed in the city Tuesday morning. Stretches of I-20 and I-220 were also shut down, the AP reported.

"We've got numerous crashes on the interstates and surface roads," Louisiana State Trooper Glenn Younger told the AP Tuesday morning.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu tweeted that schools and city facilities will remain closedon Thursday.

To the south, every major interstate in southeastern Louisiana was impacted by weather-related closures Wednesday morning. Most Baton Rouge-area school districts were closed Tuesday and Wednesday as all major roadways leading into and out of the city were shut down, including interstates 10, 12 and 110.

Eastward into Mississippi, the travel problems didn't lessen. The Mississippi Department of Transportation reported ice on roadways in every county on Wednesday morning.


As temperatures plunged, utility companies urged residents to conserve energy by lowering their thermostats and skipping showers or washing clothes, the AP reported.

The University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University canceled classes Tuesday and Wednesday, and city offices were closed in Jackson.

Travel Woes in the Plains, Midwest

Multiple road accidents were reported across the Midwest and Plains on Monday as Inga swept through the region with snow, sleet and freezing rain.

A crash involving multiple vehicles caused injuries on Interstate 55 in Illinois and prompted officials to shut the road down, state police reported. Officials said the roadway was covered in black ice north of Farmersville in both the northbound and southbound lanes. South of Farmersville, patches of snow and ice were reported on the interstate.


Several accidents were reported across Wichita, Kansas, Monday morning, KAKE.com reported. No serious injuries have been reported.

Authorities shut down the southbound lanes of I-65 in Columbus, Indiana, Monday after a trailer attached to a truck partially flipped over a concrete overpass barrier, local police tweeted.


Chicago's O'Hare International Airport led the nation with more than 100 flight cancellations Monday, according to FlightAware.