Southeast Braces for Second Crippling Snow Storm

The Southeast is bracing for another winter storm, with substantial snow and ice expected to cripple the region.

Winter storm watches, warnings and advisories have been posted all the way from the Texas-Mexico border to the New Jersey shoreline.

In Georgia, the storm is expected to dump more snow than the two inches that paralyzed Atlanta two week ago.

That system created gridlock on Atlanta interstates, forcing some residents to sleep in their cars and trapping thousands of students in their schools.

Now forecasters predict Georgia could see the most significant ice storm in 10 to 20 years.

But state officials said this time they're ready, with Georgia's governor declaring a state of emergency ahead of the storm.

"We are making every effort to be prepared for these events, and I would simply say that we should all individually use extreme caution," Gov. Nathan Deal said.

Frigid temperatures and precipitation are expected to create an icy mess from northeast Texas to the Carolinas.

Meanwhile in the Midwest, freezing rain, sleet, and snow have been causing headaches for motorists.

"We're used to having the roads scraped to the pavement back in the East and that's not the way they do it out here," one Kansas resident said.

Some parts of Virginia could pick up a foot of snow.

"There are a lot of questions because we haven't seen how the system is going to develop, but it seems most likely there is going to be a decent snowstorm," National Weather Service meteorologist Howard Silverman told the Daily Progress.

In North Carolina residents stocked up on food and supplies.

"We sold everything we could get our hands on," Bob King, owner of Seaboard Ace Hardware in Raleigh, N.C., said.

Utility crews around the country are trying to restore power to thousands of families who've been in the dark for a week.

Meanwhile, wicked weather is also happening out west. Some in California are still cleaning up after heavy rains and snow triggered mudslides.

And in Utah and Colorado, two people were killed by avalanches and heavy snow, including 21-year-old student Ashley Cox who spent last summer helping at an orphanage in Romania.

"She just had a good spirit about her and you felt good when you were around her," Kayla Black, a friend of Cox, said.

Winter storm watches are in effect for Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia, where at least five inches of snow are possible.