AUSTIN: Power outages in Texas dropped below a half-million on Thursday morning for the first time in four days, but many people remained without electricity or safe drinking water after winter storms wreaked havoc on the state’s power grid and utilities.
Meanwhile, heavy snow and ice were expected Thursday in the Appalachians, northern Maryland and southern Pennsylvania. Snow started falling in New York City early Thursday morning and was coating cars and rooftops. The National Weather Service predicted up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) would fall in the New York metropolitan region Thursday and Friday.
In Little Rock, Arkansas, 15 inches (38 centimeters) of snow was on the ground Thursday after back-to-back storms, tying a record for snow depth set in 1918, the National Weather Service said.
More than 320,000 homes and businesses were without power in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama after a wave of storms dumped as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) of snow and ice…