Thousands of flights cancelled as storm hits southern US

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As many as 50 million people across the region could be affected over the next two days.

About 3,000 flights were grounded by weather yesterday.

Motorists from Texas to Virginia have been warned to stay off the roads.

Forecasters predicted up to 1ft of snow in parts of Virginia and up to 10 inches along the North Carolina coast.

Traffic came to a halt in the early afternoon in Atlanta as snow began falling and commuters tried to leave work early.

The potential for ice was more of a concern than the snow totals, Jason Deese of the US National Weather Service told the BBC.