Southern snowstorm leaves
icy roads, power outages
This sketch provided by the Austin County Justice of the Peace via the Houston Chronicle shows a photo of Gloria Faye Stringer. A body found floating in the Brazos River in 1975, has now been identified by forensics experts in Texas' Harris County, as that of Stringer. (AP Photo/Austin County Justice of the Peace via Houston Chronicle)
After a day of teasing, the snow finally starts to accumulate along Monument Avenue in downtown Richmond, Va., on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Eva Russo)
Chad Ellinger and his son Trip Ellinger, 2 and daughter Morgan Ellinger, 6 push snow from their driveway in Augusta County, Va. Sunday Feb. 19, 2012. The weather service was predicting several inches of snow to fall on parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. The storm system was expected to move off the Mid-Atlantic coast on Sunday night. (AP Photo/Norm Shafer)
Suspended District Attorney Tracey Cline, left, and her attorney Jim VanCamp, left, listen to the first witness as her dismissal hearing begins Monday, Feb. 20, 2012, at the Durham County Courthouse in Durham, N.C. Cline was suspended in January over unfounded accusations of misconduct she made against Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson as she tried to have him removed from overseeing matters involving her office after Hudson ruled against her in a series of high-profile cases. (AP Photo/Chuck Liddy, Pool)
Suspended District Attorney Tracey Cline, left, and her attorney Jim VanCamp, right, listen to the first witness as her dismissal hearing begins Monday, Feb. 20, 2012, at the Durham County Courthouse in Durham, N.C. Cline was suspended in January over unfounded accusations of misconduct she made against Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson as she tried to have him removed from overseeing matters involving her office after Hudson ruled against her in a series of high-profile cases. (AP Photo/Chuck Liddy, Pool)
Virginia Commonwealth University junior sculpture major Desiree Williams, back to camera, from Chesapeake, her boyfriend Nico Bustos, center, of Virginia Beach, and two-year-old Soy play in the snow on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va., on Sunday evening, Feb. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Eva Russo)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A day after a winter storm dumped several inches of snow on a handful of southern states, crews worked Monday to restore power to tens of thousands of customers as police responded to dozens of accidents on slippery roads.
The storm brought as much as 9 inches of snow to some areas on Sunday as it powered its way from Kentucky and Tennessee to West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina. The storm system pushed off the coast early Monday.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that despite clearing on major roads and reduced traffic flow because of Presidents Day weekend, state police responded to dozens of accidents Monday morning, including a crash involving a tractor-trailer on Interstate 64.
Officials warned that icy spots remained a hazard on bridges, overpasses and ramps. The Richmond area received 2 to 5 inches of snow.
In North Carolina, cars were sliding off the road in the Raleigh area on Monday morning, according to The News & Observer. In one fender-bender, a car slid and struck the cruiser of a police officer who was investigating another accident. The State Highway Patrol reported more than two dozen morning collisions in Wake County alone.
Meanwhile, power crews were busy working to restore power on Presidents Day.
Appalachian Power Co. reported that about 56,000 customers in Virginia and West Virginia remained without power at lunchtime Monday, down from about 66,000 the night before. Dominion Energy had reduced the number of outages in its coverage area, including Richmond, to fewer than 1,000. Kentucky Power reported on its website that more than 33,000 customers were without electricity at midday Monday. The company said more than 340 crew members were working to restore power.
“Trees, weighed by heavy snow, in already saturated ground, may continue to lose their rootings and branches leading to additional outage cases,” Kentucky Power warned customers.
The storm hit toward the end of what has been an otherwise mild winter in the region.
In Tennessee, about 20 vehicles were involved in crashes along a three-mile stretch of Interstate 75 near the Kentucky border on Sunday afternoon.