Hundreds of thousands of people were at a loss for power in the South. On December 9, 2018, a massive pre-winter storm brought snow, sleet and freezing rain across a wide part of the South. This caused dangerously icy roads which affected the flow of people’s day-to-day lives. Interstates had major delays and flights were cancelled. In North Carolina and Virginia got stuck in snow or lost control on icy patches. But this massive snowfall does have some benefits that follow. Kids took advantage of the early winter snow with snowball fights, sledding, and building snowmen.

Local police in North Carolina responded to hundreds of snow-related traffic accidents. Cars, trucks and tractor-trailers all struggled with snow and ice. Officials warned residents to prepare emergency kits and stay off roads that are in high impact areas. North Carolina and Virginia had school cancellations the following Monday. Nearly 300,000 power outrages were reported across the region, including 145,000 in North Carolina. Parts of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Virginia also saw outages. Roughly 13,000 flights were delayed, and 1,795 on Sunday. Travelers were advised to double check their flight status before leaving for the airport. Cancellations were reported on flights from as far as the Midwest.

Charlie Giambrone, a freshman at Cathedral Prep, had some connection with this. “I was wondering how bad it was because I have family down there,” he said. “I called them after it happened, and they said there was a lot of snow and ice. But the good thing about it is they had off school and played in the snow in the backyard.”