Snow covers most U.S. states

WASHINGTON. December 29. KAZINFORM Snow covers most of the lower 48 states after a week of wicked weather, but forecasters warned on Friday that it's not over yet.
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Freezing rain threatened parts of Texas, Missouri and Tennessee and a fresh snowstorm was expected to push into the Ohio Valley.

Residents of Oklahoma and Arkansas are "likely to see ice accumulate on top of snow and that could compromise power lines," said CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider. "Keep that in mind for those of you traveling on Interstate 40 specifically."

Snow covers 65% of the ground in the lower 48 states, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.  For comparison, last winter's top snow coverage for the lower 48 was nearly 48%.

"That was in February at the peak of winter and we're still in December," Schneider said.

The powerful winter storm that dumped all that snow has moved out over the Atlantic, but not before depositing from 10 to 17 inches of snow across parts of Maine, according to the National Weather Service.

ationwide, storm-related incidents have been blamed for the deaths of 10 people, including two children in Arkansas and an 81-year-old Alabama man. He died Thursday of injuries suffered when a tree fell on his house in Georgiana, CNN reports.

Snowfall totals of a foot or more were common throughout the Northeast: 21 inches fell in Woodford, Vermont; 17.4 inches in Addison, New York; and 15 inches in Ashfield, Massachusetts.

The front was welcome news to snow enthusiasts in Vermont and northern New York.

"It will keep the ski resorts happy and they won't waste money making snow," said John Goff, lead forecaster of the National Weather Service office in Burlington.

The area hopes to return to a normal winter of about 80 inches of snow, up dramatically from the scant 37 to 38 inches it received last season, Goff said. "Usually you get one or two whoppers like this and it will get you caught up quickly."

Snowfall totals will be smaller Saturday, he predicted, with 2 to 4 inches in valleys and 3 to 6 inches in the mountains.

Caleb Clark, a CNN iReporter in Brattleboro in southern Vermont, called it a 'classic snowstorm.' "

"(It is) a nice and fluffy New England snow, not too dangerous and you could walk around without mittens," he said.

For travelers, major airports reported relatively few weather-related problems after a week that included thousands of flight delays and cancellations.

Friday's storm in the South was expected to move into the Northeast on Saturday.

Two to four inches of snow could fall from southern Illinois to New Jersey. New York City will see a couple inches of snow on Saturday. Areas of Connecticut to eastern Massachusetts could see higher snow amounts by Saturday night depending on the storm's track.

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