More than 300,000 people across the southeastern United States are without power after deadly and unusual winter storm that coated the region with ice and snow Wednesday as it made its way to the mid-Atlantic and northeastern parts of the nation. In the neighboring states of North and South Carolina, the storm made roads and major highways impassible, forcing many drivers to abandon their vehicles. Forecasters said the Carolinas were expected to receive over 20 centimeters of ice and snow through Thursday morning. Thousands of flights in and out of the region have been cancelled, stranding scores of passengers at airports. The storm is expected to dump more than 30 centimeters of snow across the Washington, D.C. region Thursday. The federal government is closed, along with dozens of local government offices and school districts. At least a dozens deaths in the southeastern U.S. have been blamed on the storm, including three people killed when an ambulance skidded off an icy road in Texas.