Federal offices, schools closed as eastern Seaboard preps for storm

After leaving 772,000 customers without power in U.S. southern states, a storm headed northeast Thursday, with some areas expecting double-digit snowfalls. The Office of Personnel Management Federal ordered government offices closed in Washington as the nation's capital was bracing for a possible 10 inches of snow, CNN said. Philadelphia could see as much as 11 inches of snow, New York may be blanketed in a possible 15 inches of snow and Boston could get 8 inches, forecasters said. Further inland, areas from West Virginia through western Pennsylvania and western New York were expected to get 12 to 18 inches, AccuWeather said. Police in several states blamed the storm for at least 11 deaths -- one in Virginia, two each in Georgia, North Carolina and Mississippi, and four in Texas. The storm disrupted power for more than 772,000 customers in across 14 states across the South and the District of Columbia, CNN reported. The majority of outages were in Georgia, and North and South Carolina. As much as an inch of ice built up in Georgia and the Carolinas, felling trees and weighing down fragile power lines, NBC News said. Nationwide, FlightAware.com reported 289 flights were delayed across the United States early Thursday and 4459 flights were canceled. Philadelphia International, Newark (N.J.) Liberty International and Reagan International in Washington reported 48 percent to 68 percent of their air traffic was canceled. Amtrak suspended some service in the Northeast, South and Mid-Atlantic regions Thursday. Some government offices and many schools were closed. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley declared snow emergencies. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo told state agencies to prepare "for an impending nor'easter" and asked residents to avoid unnecessary travel, as did New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. "I think what you can anticipate is it might be a day to stay inside and stay warn," Christie said. "And not worry about traveling around the roads too much. I want people to stay safe." NBC News said forecasters expected the storm to fall at a rate of 2 inches an hour, making snow removal difficult. The freezing rain largely ended in the South but the precipitation was expected to change over to snow in parts of Georgia and Alabama, with as much as 3 inches possible in northwestern Georgia, the Weather Channel said.