RALEIGH, N.C. — Doug Jones, the emergency management director in Person County, N.C., looked out of his office window Sunday evening and marveled at the thick blanket of snow.

“It’s kind of real calming,” said Mr. Jones, whose county of rolling hills, farms and forests runs along the Virginia border. “It’s real beautiful.”

That beauty came at a price, though, as a powerful storm plowed across the South this weekend, dumping heavy snow in some areas and sleet and freezing rain in others. Power was knocked out to more than 200,000 customers in North and South Carolina, according to a major utility in the region, forcing people who were left without electricity and heat to stay in hotels and shelters until downed lines can be repaired.

Hundreds of traffic accidents were reported on slick roads across the region, including an incident in Matthews, N.C., in which a falling tree struck a vehicle, causing it to careen into a church and killing the driver, according to the local police.