More snow, more woes in the South

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Parts of Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas are shivering under a winter storm that threatens to leave up to 6 inches of snow by Thursday afternoon.

A hard freeze in Louisiana, snow, sleet and freezing rain in Georgia and the Carolinas will make driving conditions treacherous Thursday morning, forecasters said.

With roads expected to ice over in South Carolina, state workers have been given the day off Thursday.

Up to a quarter to a half-inch of ice could freeze on the roads in Augusta, Georgia, according to Jim Kilmer of the National Weather Service.

The winter storm plowing through the Deep South has already disrupted travel plans for thousands of people across the country. Delta Air Lines canceled some 250 flights Wednesday through Atlanta, the carrier's hub.

The airline was trying to reroute passengers whose flights were canceled and was urging travelers to check on their flight's status before leaving for Hartsfield International Airport.

'Grits in a fan'

With between 3-to-6 inches of snow forecast for Atlanta on Wednesday, some schools remained closed and many companies sent workers home early.

Heard and Franklin counties in west-central Georgia got between 3 and 4 inches of snow Wednesday, according to Gary Beeley, a forecaster for the National Weather Service in Peachtree City. Snowfall in the Atlanta area ranged from 1 to 2 inches, Beeley said. The same weather system set off tornado warnings in South Florida on Wednesday, with radar showing one twister southwest of Miami.

In Mississippi, three people died Wednesday morning in weather-related accidents in the Hattiesburg area, said Mississippi Highway Patrol spokeswoman Jan Schaefer. Two people died in Jones County and another in Lamar County, she said.

Parts of Mississippi have received about 2 inches of snow, and in Alabama, motorists had to navigate snowy roads.

"All over Alabama looks like a white Christmas. Everything is white, and it's still coming down," said Lisa Cazeno, who was driving south between Opelika and Montgomery, Alabama, on Interstate 85. "It looks like grits in a fan."

Most of the heaviest snow fell in southeast Alabama with Lowndes County reporting between 2 and 3.5 inches, while Montgomery accumulated 2-to-2.5 inches, NWS meteorologists said.

Snow to the West

A winter storm warning was in effect Wednesday night above 7,000 feet for the Southern Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Kings Canyon, California.

Snow was expected to be heavy at times overnight over the southern Sierra, with between 8 to 15 inches accumulating by Thursday morning, forecasters said.

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning Wednesday night for the northwestern coast of Alaska, which means a serious threat to life and property is occuring or imminent and travel or outdoor activity is strongly discouraged.