The Deep South is the next target for a brutal winter storm that forecasters are calling "crippling" and "potentially paralyzing." A winter weather expert said the South was in for weather "that many parts have not seen in years." The National Weather Service issued winter storm alerts all the way from central Texas eastward through the Gulf Coast into Georgia, the Carolinas and far southeast Virginia. School systems from Texas to Florida announced a day ahead of time that they would close Tuesday as the frigid weather system headed toward them. It was too early to say just how much snow could fall overnight and into Tuesday, but forecasters were warning that if all of the precipitation falls as snow -- instead of sleet -- more than 6 inches was possible. Meanwhile, the Great Lakes faced wind chills that approached 50 degrees below zero.
