Frigid temperatures trail storm dropping more snow on South
By JEFF MARTIN and JAY REEVES, Associated Press
Jan 16, 2018 9:46 PM CST
A Hardin County (Kentucky) EMS units leaves the scene of a multi-vehicle wreck on Interstate 65 near the Bonnieville, Kentucky exit on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018 enroute to an area hospital with patients. (Neal Cardin/The News-Enterprise via AP)   (Associated Press)

ATLANTA (AP) — A wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain has blanketed a large swath of the South, trailed by a blast of frigid air that could approach record low temperatures.

By Tuesday evening, steadily dropping snow was forcing cars on Interstate 75 about 15 miles (25 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta to slow considerably amid scattered fender benders.

National Water Service meteorologist Ryan Willis in Peachtree City says the forecast calls for 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 4 centimeters) of snow in metro Atlanta through Wednesday morning. Forecasters said travel could be difficult because of below-zero (-18 Celsius) wind chills.

The same slippery conditions and dangerous wind chills swept across several southern states Tuesday, shutting down interstates, triggering highway crashes, closing airport runways and prompting widespread school closings.

The system was expected to push into the Carolinas overnight.

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