Snowballs did accept a adventitious in the South

ATLANTA – It doesn't booty abundant snow to shut bottomward the Deep South.

Even afore the aboriginal cell fell, flights were canceled Friday at the world's busiest airport in Atlanta. A Starbucks on the Gulf Coast bankrupt for the day, citation a abiding dribble and temperatures in the mid-30s as "inclement weather." Classes were canceled about everywhere.

As abundant as 7 inches fell in axial South Carolina, one of the hardest-hit areas. The crumb wasn't accepted linger, though, like it has in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. That arena was hit with back-to-back blizzards in the accomplished anniversary that dumped 3 anxiety of snow.

The Southern snow agape out ability to accoutrements and acquired hundreds of accidents. Near Montgomery, Ala., a car plunged off an icy alley into a pond, killing two brothers ages 4 and 2, Accompaniment Trooper Kevin Cook said. The boys' mother, who was driving, survived.

In the Dallas area, acceptance acclaimed the day off.

"I was like, yes!" said 14-year-old Ashleigh Hartsock, a aerial academy apprentice in burghal Frisco whose Facebook folio was activity crazy with letters amusement over the academy closure.

She was amid abounding Texans who braved the algid with a absurd abridgement of winter gear. In a burghal that gets an boilerplate of 2 inches of snow a year, abundant boots, blubbery gloves and sleds were scarce.

Several kids at a Frisco esplanade attempted to sled bottomward a slight acclivity that passes for a acropolis in the Dallas area. Wearing affiliate gloves covered in artificial baggies and grocery accoutrements over their tennis shoes, they rode debris can lids, acme to artificial containers and pieces of cardboard.

"If they accept to absence a academy day, at atomic they can get out in it and accept some fun," said Lauren Harbour, whose children, ages 10, 8 and 6, were aggravating out the assorted makeshift sleds.

Federal forecasters said every accompaniment but Hawaii had snow on the arena about Friday, a freakishly attenuate occurrence. It was alike snowing forth East Coast bank towns.

"I knew it could happen, but I didn't apprehend abundant snow bottomward here," said Frank Pinter, Savannah's artery aliment supervisor, who confused actuality four years ago from arctic Ohio. "It's such an abnormal accident for this area, we don't advance a accrue of alkali or anything."

Airlines scrapped added than 1,800 flights, abounding of them at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which sees 2,700 arrivals and departures on an boilerplate day. Of that total, hundreds were apoplectic at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, which got added than a bottom of snow from Thursday into Friday.

The cancelations bound awash up air cartage about the country.

"It's frustrating," said Russ Cereola, a New York salesman aggravating to fly home from Atlanta. "There's no snow on the arena yet, and they're abandoning flights. Now I accept entering being is apparently canceled, but this is a little nuts."

Many places were seeing snow for the aboriginal time in a bearing or longer, and some bodies weren't absolutely abiding what to do.

"We don't alike advertise snow shovels. They'd accept to go to the old-time atramentous shovels, which is the abutting affair I have," said Todd Friddle, the administrator at a Lowe's home-improvement abundance in the Charleston, S.C., suburb of Mount Pleasant.

In the Florida Panhandle boondocks of Century, 44-year-old Steve Pace aching some snow from the awning of his barter and formed a snowball to bandy at his 6-year-old grandson, Kaleb. It active for alone about 10 account afore giving way to rain again, but it was enough.

"I've alone anytime apparent snow on TV till now," Kaleb said, smiling.

For the aboriginal time in its 88-year history, Grandview Florist in the Panhandle association of Gonzalez had to reschedule Valentine's Day deliveries for winter weather. Owner Marie Pierce, 77, managed the anarchy while creating arrange from lilies and roses in the aback of the rural shop.

"The schools and some businesses are closed, so we are sending our drivers to customers' homes instead," said Pierce, whose grandmother started the boutique in 1923.

___

Melissa Nelson appear from Pensacola, Fla. Associated Press writers Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Ala., Bruce Smith in Charleston, S.C., Shelia Byrd in Jackson, Miss., Desiree Hunter in Montgomery, Ala., and Cain Burdeau in New Orleans contributed to this report.