Winter precipitation could hamper commute across South

An ambulance drives on the snow as seen through a window, Monday, Feb. 23, 2015, in Abilene, Texas. Freezing rain affected travel in nearly half of Texas on Monday, and winter storm warnings were issued in the northern part of the state. (AP Photo/The Abilene Reporter-News, Nellie Doneva)
An ambulance drives on the snow as seen through a window, Monday, Feb. 23, 2015, in Abilene, Texas. Freezing rain affected travel in nearly half of Texas on Monday, and winter storm warnings were issued in the northern part of the state. (AP Photo/The Abilene Reporter-News, Nellie Doneva)
An ambulance drives on the snow as seen through a window, Monday, Feb. 23, 2015, in Abilene, Texas. Freezing rain affected travel in nearly half of Texas on Monday, and winter storm warnings were issued in the northern part of the state. (AP Photo/The Abilene Reporter-News, Nellie Doneva)

(AP) A wide swath of the country is expecting more winter precipitation that forecasters warn could lead to dangerous road conditions during the Tuesday morning commute.

A mix of snow, sleet, rain and freezing rain is expected in parts of the southern Plains and South, where school districts in more than a half-dozen states from Texas east have canceled or delayed classes. Even parts of the coastal Carolinas could see some precipitation.

Elsewhere, forecasters are warning of dangerously cold wind chills into Tuesday morning. Here’s a look at what’s happening:

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SNOW, ICE IN THE SOUTH

Conditions were expected to improve in Texas as the precipitation moves east toward the Appalachians by Tuesday morning. A day earlier, icy conditions in Texas led to the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and a daylong delay in the trial of the ex-Marine charged in the shooting death of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. The trial was expected to proceed Tuesday, weather permitting.

Snow was blowing across roads and highways in the north Georgia mountains early Tuesday and ice coated cars in some of metro’s Atlanta’s northern suburbs.

National Weather Service forecasters in Jackson, Mississippi, said freezing drizzle continued early Tuesday over much of central Mississippi and some ice could form on some bridges and overpasses. Meteorologist Dan Byrd in Jackson said the drizzle would end Tuesday morning and temperatures would warm up to the 40s.

In Tennessee, where residents were struggling to recover from last week’s ice storm and bone-chilling low temperatures, up to 3 inches of snow was being forecast for the eastern part of the state during the early morning.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency officials say 27 people around the state have died as a result of the ice storm and frigid temperatures. Tens of thousands remained without power Monday.

Snow, sleet and freezing rain are forecast from the South Carolina Midlands to the coast through early afternoon. Light snow is likely along North Carolina’s northern coast.

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JET SLIPS OFF RUNWAY

Nobody was hurt after an American Airlines jet slid off a taxiway and got stuck in the grass during wintry conditions at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, officials said.

The MD-80 plane’s front nose gear slipped off the taxiway as the airplane turned a corner Monday night, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn Lunsford said.

Airline officials say 63 passengers and five crew members were onboard Flight 296 from San Antonio. All passengers safely exited the plane and were taken by a bus to an airport terminal.

Airline officials haven’t confirmed what caused the plane to slip off the taxiway.

Freezing rain led airlines to cancel more than 1,000 flights in and out of the airport Monday.

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DEEP FREEZE

The Weather Service said that temperatures will be 15 to 25 degrees below average for most of the East Coast west to the Great Lakes and lower Mississippi River Valley.

Forecasters warned of dangerous wind chills overnight and into Tuesday morning for parts of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Northwestern Connecticut and far western Massachusetts can expect wind chills to 29 below and temperatures between 16 below and 5 above, according to the Weather Service.

Boston’s possible 1 below isn’t expected to match the daily record low of 7 below from 1894.

In Pittsburgh, public schools will be starting two hours later than usual with the wind chill expected to be as low as 10 to 20 below zero around sunrise.

Temperatures around New Jersey were 20 to 25 degrees below normal. Residents in Sussex awoke Tuesday to 12 degrees below zero, without any wind chill. It was 5 below in Somerville and minus-3 in Caldwell.

Dan Hofmann, a meteorologist with The National Weather Service, sadi the temperature dipped down to 3 below zero at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on Tuesday, shattering the previous record of 14 degrees, set in 1967.

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WATER HANDED OUT

The Kentucky National Guard was helping distribute water in communities where many households were without due to bitter cold temperatures.

News media outlets report Gov. Steve Beshear’s office said more than 40,000 households were without water Tuesday in 18 counties. Those hit hardest include Harlan, Pike and Clay counties.

Some central Kentucky communities are also starting to report water woes. On Monday night, Winchester Municipal Utilities issued a mandatory water conservation order.

Officials say multiple issues have led to shortages, including broken lines, power outages and people dripping faucets to keep pipes from freezing.

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SUN, SKIING IN CALIFORNIA

A winter storm that brought much-needed rain to Southern California on Sunday and Monday was expected to give way to sunny skies Tuesday. And snow that fell Monday on mountains across Southern California was good news for ski and snowboard areas. Mountain High, a small ski resort in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles, said it would reopen Tuesday after being closed for nearly a week due to lack of snow.