“It’s kind of real calming,” said Jones, whose county of rolling hills, farms and forests runs along the Virginia border. “It’s real beautiful.”
That beauty came at a price, though, as a powerful storm plowed across the South this weekend, dumping heavy snow in some areas and sleet and freezing rain in others. Power was knocked out to more than 200,000 customers in North and South Carolina, according to a major utility in the region, forcing people who were left without electricity and heat to stay in hotels and shelters until downed lines can be repaired.
Hundreds of traffic accidents were reported on slick roads across the region, including an incident in Matthews, North Carolina, in which a falling tree struck a vehicle, causing it to careen into a church and killing the driver, according to police.
Travel disruptions were widespread. More than 1,100 flights to or from Charlotte Douglas International Airport had been canceled by Sunday morning because of the storm, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website. Raleigh-Durham International Airport reported more than 200 cancellations. Amtrak also canceled or altered service on a number of trains through Tuesday.
The heaviest snowfalls were in the mountains of western North Carolina and Virginia and in rural areas along the state line, while major population centers to the southeast were largely spared.
On Sunday, the streets in many Raleigh neighborhoods were virtually free of people and vehicles, as residents heeded the calls of government officials to stay indoors for the weekend. The area is unaccustomed to such early snowfall, and many people were wary of the storm after days of official warnings.
Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina, declared a state of emergency Friday as the storm approached, and even as it began to ebb Sunday, he continued to warn residents not to take unnecessary chances. Cooper said the National Guard had worked overnight to clear traffic crashes on major streets and highways.
“Stay put if you can,” Cooper said.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.