CHARLOTTE — Duke Energy said crews were working hard to restore power for thousands Saturday in the wake of overnight snow, sleet, and freezing rain. Officials said they saw around 54,000 customers impacted across the Carolinas Friday night.

After a freezing winter storm shut schools, cut power and cancelled or delayed flights, the South was slowly thawing Sunday as warmer weather melted snow and ice. Crews worked furiously and by Sunday morning power had been restored to parts of North Carolina and South Carolina where tens of thousands of customers lost electricity over the last few days,

The storm was moving out to sea off the East Coast on Saturday, leaving behind a forecast for snow showers in the Appalachian Mountains and New England. But temperatures were expected to plunge after sundown in the South,