Bitter winter storm spreads ice, heavy snow in the east

A messy, slow-moving winter storm churned out yet another round of snow, ice and sleet in the East on Saturday, bringing slippery roads to Tennessee and Alabama and creating havoc along the Mid-Atlantic from Washington, D.C., almost to Boston.

Washington, D.C., recorded between 3 and 7 inches of snow as drivers fought poor visibility much of the day.

Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories were in effect for major cities as far apart as St. Louis, Atlanta, Boston and Indianapolis.

At least 20 people died from hypothermia in the latest blast of arctic air known as the Siberian Express, The Weather Channel says. The toll includes nine people in Tennessee, six in Pennsylvania, two in Illinois and one each in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

For winter-weary residents in the eastern United States, there was no letup from the bitter cold, along with heavy snow from Washington almost to Boston.

"We are very concerned about the added weight triggering a new round of roof collapses in New England and parts of Upstate New York," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Mark Paquette.

The White House had 1½ inches of snow by early afternoon, sending the snowplows out all day as snow fell at some points at a rate of more than an inch an hour.

In West Virginia, which was particularly hard hit, Pocahontas County had 15 inches by early afternoon, the coal community of Raleigh recorded 12. Pendleton County also had 12 inches. In neighboring Maryland, had recorded 9 inches.

"Snow is hitting hard and fast in the I-95 mid-Atlantic corridor with some areas receiving snowfall at the rate of an inch per hour," AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.

In the South, particularly around Nashville in central Tennessee — the big worry for Saturday was the buildup of ice on the highways from snow changing to freezing rain.

In Alabama, the Huntsville-Madison County emergency management office said local fire departments were so concerned about the number of abandoned cars on a stretch of highway northwest of Huntsville that it said they had to be removed for public safety to allow emergency vehicles to get through.

Behind the cold front, a strong surface high will move into the central U.S. bringing snow along the Colorado Rockies and across the high Plains, according to the National Weather Service.

By Sunday evening, a wintry mix of sleet, snow and freezing rain targets the eastern New Mexico across to North Carolina.

In the East, another slap of arctic air early next week is expected to bring more flurries and snow showers.