It was a snow day all the way down to the beach in South Carolina on Wednesday as a powerful storm pushed snow and freezing rain into areas of the state that hadn't had a major winter storm in eight years.

The snow and ice shut down more than a dozen bridges and halted all flights at the Charleston International Airport. Forecasters say 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 centimeters) of snow could fall around Summerville, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) inland from downtown Charleston.

"It's a great day to stay home," Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said.

And the people who did venture out in Charleston didn't get very far. Periodic bridge closures and icy spots slowed down nearly every major highway to a crawl. The major bridges on Interstate 526 were closed Wednesday afternoon.

Interstate 95 was nearly an icy parking lot for 60 miles (97 kilometers) from the Georgia state line north. Troopers couldn't keep up with the number of reported wrecks which numbers into the hundreds.

Once the snow and ice end, forecasters predicting strong winds that could knock down ice-laden branches and power lines. So far, less than 10,000 power outages were reported in the state.

The band of heaviest snow was expected to extend from the Charleston suburbs north and east into inland Horry County, according to the National Weather Service. It was the first major winter storm along South Carolina's coast since 2010.

Schools all across eastern South Carolina either were closed Wednesday or let out early. The National Weather Service updated its forecast, saying accumulating snow was possible as far north and west as Columbia and any snow that fell would stick almost immedialy to roads because it had been so cold for several days.