• Ice covers a street as a car struggles to climb a hill in Atlanta, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and then came the below-zero wind chills and record-breaking low temperatures in New Orleans and other cities. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Photo: David Goldman, STF / Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Photo: David Goldman, STF
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Ice covers a street as a car struggles to climb a hill in Atlanta, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and then came the below-zero wind chills and record-breaking low temperatures in New Orleans and other cities. (AP Photo/David Goldman) less
Ice covers a street as a car struggles to climb a hill in Atlanta, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and then came the ... more
Photo: David Goldman, STF
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A man walks through steam venting from a building in the cold weather in Atlanta, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and then came the below-zero wind chills and record-breaking low temperatures in New Orleans and other cities. (AP Photo/David Goldman) less
A man walks through steam venting from a building in the cold weather in Atlanta, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and ... more
Photo: David Goldman, STF
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Emergency personnel work at the scene of a partially submerged car in a canal in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. Authorities said an 8-month-old baby in the car was killed. Investigators believe the driver lost control on an icy overpass and plunged into the canal. (Matthew Hinton/The Advocate via AP) less
Emergency personnel work at the scene of a partially submerged car in a canal in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. Authorities said an 8-month-old baby in the car was killed. Investigators believe the ... more
Photo: Matthew Hinton, MBO
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In this Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017 photo, old office equipment stands in a room near the entryway of a Cold War era Civil Defense bunker located in the neutral ground of West End Boulevard near Robert E. Lee Boulevard in New Orleans, La. Relics from the Cold War, the aging shelters that once numbered in the thousands in schools, courthouses and churches haven’t been maintained. And conventional wisdom has changed about whether such a shelter system is necessary in an age when an attack is more likely to come from a weak rogue state or terrorist group rather than a superpower. (Max Becherer /The Advocate via AP) less
In this Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017 photo, old office equipment stands in a room near the entryway of a Cold War era Civil Defense bunker located in the neutral ground of West End Boulevard near Robert E. Lee ... more
Photo: Max Becherer, MBO
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A snow covered downtown is seen, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018, in Atlanta. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and then came the below-zero wind chills and record-breaking low temperatures in New Orleans and other cities. (AP Photo/Janelle Cogan) less
A snow covered downtown is seen, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018, in Atlanta. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and then came the below-zero wind chills ... more
Photo: Janelle Cogan, STF
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A view of the snowy train tracks taken from a Marta train, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018, in Atlanta. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and then came the below-zero wind chills and record-breaking low temperatures in New Orleans and other cities. (AP Photo/Ravi Nessman) less
A view of the snowy train tracks taken from a Marta train, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018, in Atlanta. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and then came ... more
Photo: Ravi Nessman, STF
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A couple walks through a snow covered Piedmont Park as the sun rises in Atlanta, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and then came the below-zero wind chills and record-breaking low temperatures in New Orleans and other cities. (AP Photo/David Goldman) less
A couple walks through a snow covered Piedmont Park as the sun rises in Atlanta, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and ... more
Photo: David Goldman, STF
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A couple walks through a snow covered Piedmont Park as the sun rises in Atlanta, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and then came the below-zero wind chills and record-breaking low temperatures in New Orleans and other cities. (AP Photo/David Goldman) less
A couple walks through a snow covered Piedmont Park as the sun rises in Atlanta, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and ... more
Photo: David Goldman, STF
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A person walks through a snow covered Piedmont Park as the sun rises in Atlanta, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and then came the below-zero wind chills and record-breaking low temperatures in New Orleans and other cities. (AP Photo/David Goldman) less
A person walks through a snow covered Piedmont Park as the sun rises in Atlanta, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and ... more
Photo: David Goldman, STF
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A person walks through a snow covered Piedmont Park as the midtown skyline stands in the background Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and then came the below-zero wind chills and record-breaking low temperatures in New Orleans and other cities. (AP Photo/David Goldman) less
A person walks through a snow covered Piedmont Park as the midtown skyline stands in the background Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of ... more
Photo: David Goldman, STF
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A person walks through a snow covered Piedmont Park as the midtown skyline stands in the background Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of snow and ice, and then came the below-zero wind chills and record-breaking low temperatures in New Orleans and other cities. (AP Photo/David Goldman) less
A person walks through a snow covered Piedmont Park as the midtown skyline stands in the background Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The South awoke on Wednesday to a two-part Arctic mess. First came a thin blanket of ... more
Photo: David Goldman, STF
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A police officer walks from the scene of an overturned Jeep after an accident on a snow covered road in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. A winter storm is making it's way through Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) less
A police officer walks from the scene of an overturned Jeep after an accident on a snow covered road in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. A winter storm is making it's way through Virginia. (AP ... more
Photo: Steve Helber, STF
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Houston Texans general manager Brian Gaine answers questions during his introductory news conference at NRG Stadium on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018, in Houston. Gaine is the Texans third general manger in team history. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP) less
Houston Texans general manager Brian Gaine answers questions during his introductory news conference at NRG Stadium on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018, in Houston. Gaine is the Texans third general manger in team ... more
Photo: Brett Coomer, MBO
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Motorists along I-49 are prompted Wednesday to heed the warning of the danger of icy roads in Hattiesburg, Miss., after a hard freeze hit the Deep South. Even the Mississippi Delta had several inches of snow.  less
Motorists along I-49 are prompted Wednesday to heed the warning of the danger of icy roads in Hattiesburg, Miss., after a hard freeze hit the Deep South. Even the Mississippi Delta had several inches of snow. ... more
Photo: Rogelio V. Solis, STF
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ATLANTA - Snow, ice and a record-breaking blast of cold closed runways, highways, schools and government offices across the South and sent cars sliding off roads Wednesday in a corner of the country ill-equipped to deal with wintry weather. At least 10 people died, including a baby in a car that plunged off a slippery overpass into a Louisiana canal.

Icicles hung from a statue of jazz musicians in normally balmy New Orleans, and drivers unaccustomed to ice spun their wheels across Atlanta, which was brought to a near-standstill by little more than an inch of snow.

Beach gets coated

The beach in Biloxi, Miss., got a light coating. And the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill canceled classes as the storm unloaded at least 8 inches of snow in Durham and Greensboro.

The storm turned the morning rush hour treacherous.

Even the best drivers had trouble: Retired NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted that he had just used his winch to help pull a car out of a ditch when he drove off the road and into a tree in North Carolina.

"NC stay off the roads today/tonight. 5 minutes after helping these folks I center punched a pine tree," he reported. A spokesman said Earnhardt was not hurt and his pickup had only minor damage.

By midday, skies were bright and sunny in many places, but temperatures were expected to remain below freezing throughout the day in much of the region, and roads are likely to remain icy into Thursday.

Thousands of schoolchildren and teachers got the day off. Many cities canceled meetings and court proceedings, and some businesses closed. Slippery runways and the need to de-ice planes forced cancellations and delays in New Orleans; Memphis, Tenn.; and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. Electricity usage surged to record highs as people struggled to keep warm.

The mercury dropped to record lows overnight in several places in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. It was 21 degrees before dawn in New Orleans, breaking the city's record of 23, set on the same date in 1977.

At least four people died in Louisiana, including a man who was knocked off an elevated portion of Interstate 10 in New Orleans when a pickup spun out of control on ice, and an 8-month-old baby who was in a car that slid into a canal in suburban New Orleans. The baby's mother was reported in critical condition.

Two others died along an icy stretch of I-75 southeast of Atlanta when a driver lost control and hit them, one of them inside a stopped car and the other standing beside it, authorities said.

2 dead in Houston

One person died in a weather-related traffic accident in West Virginia. In the freezing Houston area, a homeless man was found dead behind a trash bin, apparently of exposure, while an 82-year-old woman with dementia succumbed to the cold after walking away from her home.

Also, a woman was discovered dead in a snowy park near City Hall in Memphis. The temperature was around 10 degrees when she was found.

Along the Gulf Coast, ice pellets covered the tops of sago palm trees, and stretches of I-10 were closed in Louisiana and across Alabama's Mobile Bay.