A winter storm hits the southeast as hundreds of thousands of people lose power

An intense winter storm strikes much of the southern United States. She has already dumped more than 10 inches of snow in parts of Texas. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost electricity and thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed.

First responders in Texas and Louisiana rescued drivers who had left the ice or were blocked by floods. Governors of Virginia and North Carolina have already declared emergencies as the storm moved eastward. Authorities urge residents of Texas to prepare candles, flashlights, batteries and many blankets.

The National Meteorological Service stated that a "long period of snow" had started late Saturday and would last until Monday in the area, the heaviest snow forecast in northwestern Carolina. North and South Virginia. Forecasters have said that some mountainous areas of North Carolina could receive up to 12 inches of snow or more.

More than 400,000 power outages were reported in the region, the majority (about 246,000) in North Carolina Sunday afternoon. , according to the website tracking poweroutage.us. More than 99,000 people were without electricity in South Carolina and more than 55,000 blackouts in total were reported in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the sixth busiest airport in the country, announced that American Airlines would reduce its operations starting Saturday night. American has also issued a travel alert for nine airports in South Carolina and North Carolina, in Tennessee and Virginia, which means that passengers can change their travel plans at no cost.

A total of 8,886 flights were delayed and 1,883 were canceled in the United States on Sunday, according to FlightAware.com. Travelers were asked to check the status of their flight before traveling to the airport. Cancellations were reported on flights from the Midwest.