US Deep South snow storm maroons motorists
A rare winter storm that stretches 1,000 miles has hit the Deep South of the US, as ABC's Marci Gonzalez reports
Thousands of people were left stranded overnight on motorways, schools and churches as a winter snowstorm spawned traffic chaos in the US Deep South.
Airports and roads were closed as five states declared emergencies.
Military vehicles were deployed to aid stranded motorists and to reach those in need of food and water.
Barely 3in (7.6cm) of snow caused havoc in a warm-weather region where many cities do not even have snow ploughs or fleets of salt trucks.
Hundreds of motor vehicle accidents were reported, a number of them involving trucks jackknifing on highways.
Despite ample weather warnings, school officials waited until the middle of Tuesday when snow was already falling to send students home on roads where traffic was grinding to a halt.
Nearly 8,000 students across Georgia and Alabama spent the night in school gyms or on buses, reports ABC News.
Footage shows chaos caused by snow across the US
Many commuters abandoned cars along gridlocked motorways to seek shelter in churches and fire stations.
Gridlock on the streets of Atlanta, Georgia, was so bad that a police officer had to deliver a baby on a snowy motorway.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal said on Wednesday morning that the National Guard had sent military Humvees on to the city's motorways to move stranded school buses and provide food and water to people.
A school bus flipped over as it was driving students home amid dismal weather near Asheville, North Carolina.
Motorists were instructed to stay off roadways in the US states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, where states of emergency were declared.
"Residents should not overreact but should make plans now to ensure they are prepared for prolonged freezing conditions and icy roadways," Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant told US media.
At least five people were killed due to weather-related accidents in Alabama on Tuesday.
New Orleans' main airport, which was closed on Tuesday, has reopened with a reduced service.
But some 1,700 flights across the US were cancelled on Wednesday.
State legislature activities in South Carolina were also cancelled due to weather.
The latest cold snap stretched across much of the US on Wednesday, sending to the Northeast and bringing temperatures as low as -34C (-30F).
The extreme weather also brought out many Good Samaritans, who offered food and shelter to strangers battling the elements.
"I got some tea from some kids, from them and their mom," stranded motorist Rebekah Cole told CNN amid a then-10 hour commute in Atlanta.
Hundreds of accidents were reported as snow and ice descended on the Deep South 
Weather caused gridlock and extreme traffic delays along roadways in Georgia 
Traffic was gridlocked along highways in Atlanta, Georgia 
A good Samaritan walked along a Georgia highway offering peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and hot drinks to stranded motorists 
Roughly 80 children and 20 adults were instructed to shelter at an Alabama school on Tuesday evening due to a winter storm 
Motorists were forced to abandon their vehicles along a Georgia highway 
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