After a freezing winter storm shut schools, cut power and cancelled or delayed flights, the South was slowly thawing Sunday.
Crews worked furiously and by Sunday morning power had been restored to parts of North Carolina and South Carolina where tens of thousands of customers lost electricity over the last few days, according to Duke Energy.
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Parking attendants wait to help drivers at a Northwestern University parking lot during a snow day in Evanston, Ill., Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Icicles are shown Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, on a home in Cross Lanes, W.Va. (AP Photo/John Raby)
Pedestrian crosses the snow-covered street during a snow day in Evanston, Ill., Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
A parking attendant waits to help drivers at a Northwestern University parking lot during a snow day in Evanston, Ill., Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
People sled down a snow covered hill Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Michael Paul runs up a snow covered hill with his dog Murphy, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Andy Atkins removes snow from the outdoor seating area for his food truck Bad Luck Burger Club in Nashville, Tenn. on Saturday, Jan.11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kristin M. Hall)
Joe Huff, left, and Kenny Braden with "The Yard Barber" work to clear snow from the driveway of a home in The Summit neighborhood, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Owensboro, Ky. (Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP)
Power was back for 97% of the retail customers served by Georgia Power — the state largest utility — which serves all but four of the state’s 159 counties, it said.
“Crews have not slowed down, in fact, we have brought in additional resources to help us get across the finish line,” a press release on The City of Atlanta Government's Facebook page read.
Much of the winter weather has moved out of the area, said Dylan Lusk, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Peachtree, Georgia.
“For the most part, we are slowly warming up and finally thawing a little bit after snow fall and a coating of freezing rain,” Lusk said.
Warmer weather was expected but some areas were still dealing with ice. Authorities warned people to drive slowly and be careful with slick spots on roads — especially when temperatures drop again at night and melted snow and ice refreezes.
"Black ice will return as temperatures drop below freezing this evening through Monday morning,” the National Weather Service said.
Planes needed deicing and more than 100 flights to and from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were delayed on Sunday — an improvement from Saturday, when 1,000 flights were cancelled or delayed, according to FlightAware.com. By mid-afternoon Sunday operations had returned to normal, airport officials said.
Earlier this week the storm brought heavy snow, as much as 7 inches (about 18 centimeters) in some spots, and made roads slick across much of Texas and Oklahoma before moving east.
In some cities, the storm piled up more than a year’s worth of snowfall. As much as a foot (about 31 centimeters) fell in parts of Arkansas. In Memphis, a city that usually sees 2.7 inches (6.9 centimeters) a year, the Memphis International Airport recording more than 7 inches (about 18 centimeters).
Atlanta was hit with more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. The agency said it was the first time the city had over an inch of snowfall since 2018.
While the National Weather Service says that Gulf Coast residents can expect showers Sunday and Monday, other parts of the country may see snow and brace for a mass of cold, dry air from the Arctic region — including in the Great Lakes region.
Although conditions are expected to improve, some places — including churches — announced closures for Sunday.
School was canceled on Friday for millions of children from Texas to Georgia and as far east as South Carolina, giving them a rare snow day. On Saturday, officials in northern Alabama said schools could remain closed Monday if ice doesn’t melt off secondary roads.
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Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Finley from Norfolk, Virginia.
Parking attendants wait to help drivers at a Northwestern University parking lot during a snow day in Evanston, Ill., Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Icicles are shown Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, on a home in Cross Lanes, W.Va. (AP Photo/John Raby)
Pedestrian crosses the snow-covered street during a snow day in Evanston, Ill., Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
A parking attendant waits to help drivers at a Northwestern University parking lot during a snow day in Evanston, Ill., Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
People sled down a snow covered hill Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Michael Paul runs up a snow covered hill with his dog Murphy, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Andy Atkins removes snow from the outdoor seating area for his food truck Bad Luck Burger Club in Nashville, Tenn. on Saturday, Jan.11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kristin M. Hall)
Joe Huff, left, and Kenny Braden with "The Yard Barber" work to clear snow from the driveway of a home in The Summit neighborhood, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Owensboro, Ky. (Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP)
GOMA, Congo (AP) — The Rwanda-backed rebels who captured eastern Congo 's key city of Goma sought to reassure its residents Thursday, holding a stadium rally and promising safety under their administration as they try to shore up public support amid growing international pressure.
The M23 rebels continued advances elsewhere in eastern Congo despite their own announcement of a unilateral cease-fire, and the U.N. secretary-general called for them to lay down their guns and agree to mediation. Health officials, meanwhile, said the rebellion had disrupted a key medical lab in Goma.
As thousands gathered at the stadium in Goma, which the rebels captured last week with the support of troops from neighboring Rwanda, M23 political leader Corneille Nangaa told the crowd that the city had been “liberated and sanitized” and that new administrative heads have been appointed.
“I ask you to sleep well because we bring you security; this is our priority,” Nangaa said. “Starting next week, the children return to school. Let all state agents return to their offices. The displaced people are returning to their homes.”
The rebels are backed by some 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts. They are the most potent of the more than 100 armed groups active in Congo’s east, which holds vast deposits critical to much of the world’s technology.
Unlike in 2012, when the rebels first captured Goma but held it for only a short time, analysts say the M23 is now eyeing political power and eager to show it can govern.
One of those at the rally Thursday, Emmanuel Kakule, a Goma resident, said he is still worried about the situation in Goma.
“I came to listen to their project,” the 26-year-old said. “I don’t know if I’m convinced. ... We’re still afraid.”
Earlier this week, the rebels announced a unilateral ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian aid, but the Congolese government later dismissed that as a “false communication” amid reports of continued rebel advances in the east.
On Thursday, the rebels were advancing into South Kivu province and were 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the provincial capital of Bukavu, according to Nene Bintou, president of the civil society in the province. The rebels also had seized a town in the mineral-rich region a day earlier after the ceasefire was declared.
The advance has caused tension and fear among residents in Bukavu, with many fleeing to surrounding villages further afar from the city. Public transportation has also become less available, forcing some to trek for hours with their children and belongings.
Africa’s top public health body, meanwhile, sounded notes of alarm Thursday, saying that the rebellion had disrupted services at a high-security medical lab in Goma involved in the control and surveillance of infectious diseases such as Ebola.
The disruption at the National Institute of Biomedical Research lab underscores “the need for the decentralization of laboratory capacity” in the region, said Yap Boum II, a manager at the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Boum, in an online briefing, said that collection of samples for illnesses such as mpox had been disrupted and that the rebellion has led to dozens of mpox patients fleeing from treatment centers, raising the risk of the disease spreading.
The U.N. and aid groups have expressed concern about the safety of the displaced people in Goma. Before it was captured by the rebels, the city was a critical humanitarian hub that hosted many of the more than 6 million people displaced by conflict in the region.
On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued an urgent appeal to the rebels and their Rwandan military backers to “silence the guns” and stop the escalating fighting in the region, stressing that there is no military solution to the conflict in the mineral-rich region.
“It is time for mediation. It is time to end this crisis. It is time for peace,” Guterres told U.N. reporters.
The U.N. chief announced that he will be flying to Addis Ababa to take part in a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council next week, “where this crisis will also be front and center.”
“We also see the continued threat by other armed groups, either Congolese or foreign,” Guterres said. “We have countless reports of human rights abuses, including sexual and gender-based violence, forced recruitment, and the disruption of lifesaving aid.”
Meanwhile, Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera, said that he's asked the commander of his country’s peacekeepers in eastern Congo to begin preparations for their withdrawal.
Malawian troops are part of a regional peacekeeping force supporting Congolese army in the region. At least 3 Malawian troops and 14 South African soldiers — also part of the force — have been killed in the fighting.
Chakwera said on Wednesday that the withdrawal was “to honor the declaration of a ceasefire" by the rebels and to pave the way for negotiations and a lasting peace. He did not give a timeframe for the Malawian troops’ withdrawal.
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Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria, and Kamale reported from Kinshasa, Congo. AP journalist Rodney Muhmuza in Kampala, Uganda and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this reporting.
Red Cross personnel load bodies of victims of the fighting between Congolese government forces and M23 rebels in a truck in Goma, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, as the U.N. health agency said 900 died in the fight. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Red Cross personnel load bodies of victims of the fighting between Congolese government forces and M23 rebels in a truck in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, as the U.N. health agency said 900 died in the fight. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)