Ice storm encases parts of the South

Ice storm encases parts of the South

ATLANTA (AP) — An ice storm gripped the winter-weary South today, knocking out power to a wide swath of the region as the outages nearly doubled by the hour, and forecasters warned the worst of the potentially “catastrophic” storm was yet to come. From Texas to the Carolinas and the South’s business hub in Atlanta, roads were slick, businesses and schools were closed and people hunkered down. Just hours into it, sleet, snow and freezing rain had encased trees, sending them crashing into power lines. More than 200,000 homes and businesses across the region were without power and the number steadily increased. The storm came in waves of snow, sleet and freezing rain and forecasters warned relief with warmer temperatures wasn’t expected until Thursday at the earliest.