New snowstorm, new target: South under siege

John Bacon | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Watch Jim Cantore flip out over thundersnow While in Massachusetts covering what's being called a "snow hurricane," The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore and his crew caught the weather phenomenon of thundersnow on camera. Cantore reacted as if he just won the lottery.

The latest winter storm to rattle the Eastern USA was poised Monday to deal battered Boston only a glancing blow while blasting several states in the South and East.

Despite bitterly cold temperatures, Boston was happy for a respite from snow after a weekend storm dumped 16.5 inches on the city, pushing the winter total to 8 feet — and counting.

Boston's forecast called for a few more inches Tuesday, far short of what was rolling toward less well-equipped areas of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and Maryland.

Washington, D.C., not known for its prowess in handling big storms, was bracing for between 4 and 8 inches of snow, most of it falling early Tuesday and tapering off during the morning commute. With up to a foot forecast farther south, in Roanoke and Richmond, Va., Gov. Terry McAuliffe declared a statewide emergency.

Non-essential travel was discouraged, and thousands of students throughout the region will get another day off Tuesday, courtesy of Winter Storm Octavia.

Bitter cold temperatures were adding to the region's woes. Washington's high temperature was forecast to reach 25 degrees — about 20 degrees below average for the date.

Frigid temperatures plagued New England on Monday. Mount Washington, N.H., recorded a low of -34 degrees with a wind-chill factor of -87. A New York City hiker who activated her emergency personal locator beacon in the state's Presidential Range amid minus-30 temperatures and 100-mph winds was found dead Monday.

In Kentucky, a section of Interstate 71 near Louisville closed Monday shortly after the snow started. Parts of the state could see more than a foot of snow, the National Weather Service said.

"For Louisville, it could be one of the worst (snowstorms) in 10 years," said meteorologist Joe Sullivan.

Waterford, Ky., reported 7.5 inches of snow at midday Monday.

In Nashville, homeless shelter volunteer coordinator Robb McCluskey said he was worried that a few inches of slush, ice and snow would keep drivers from bringing people to the shelter and keep church congregations from delivering dinner.

"That's the big issue," McCluskey said, "seeing how others are going to survive it."

Jacksboro, Tenn., reported a midday total of a half inch of ice on the ground.

The Weather Channel reported that "snow, sleet and freezing rain will make travel difficult, and winter storm warnings have already been posted for almost 47 million people."

That could translate to 4 inches of nasty ice and snow as far south as northern Georgia.

Atlanta forecasters cautioned about possible black ice for the morning commute after a day of cold rain and overnight temperatures dipping below freezing.

Frigid temperatures were reported all across the northeastern USA Monday morning: Erie, Pa., dropped to minus-18 degrees, tying the city's all-time record low temperature, according to the National Weather Service. Cleveland's minus-8 degree reading broke a daily record low previously set in 1904.

Daily record lows were also tied or broken in Detroit, Baltimore, Syracuse, Toledo, Trenton, N.J., and Wilmington, Del., the Weather Channel reported.

Boston fell to minus-3 degrees, its coldest reading since January 2004, while Philadelphia bottomed out at 3 degrees, its coldest since January 2005, meteorologist Matt Lanza reported.

Airlines took notice of the cold and snow, canceling more than 1,000 flights nationwide Monday and more than 300 for Tuesday. Monday's cancellations were scattered across airports from New England to the Deep South as lingering disruptions from the weekend's blizzard mixed with the latest winter storm.

Still, no region has faced more winter difficulties than eastern Massachusetts. In Boston, the 58.5 inches of snow so far this month makes February 2015 the city's snowiest month on record, the National Weather Service reported. That's 10 times what the city typically receives in February.

The city's 2014-15 winter is the third-snowiest on record, with more than 95 inches recorded so far. The city is only 12 inches away from its snowiest winter ever — based on records dating to the 1870s.

"It's certainly not a record that we want," Mayor Marty Walsh told the Boston Herald. "It looks like a record we can get."

Contributing: Doyle Rice, Ben Mutzabaugh, Michael Winter and Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY; Matthew Glowicki, The (Louisville) Courier-Journal; Stacey Barchenger, The (Nashville) Tennessean, Associated Press.