By The Associated Press

Low temperatures gripped much of the South, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Wednesday, freezing and refreezing snow and ice and making roads hazardous for those who’d ventured out. In many areas, the cold was expected to stay for days.

The refreeze has already played out over and over in New England, where mountains of snow are piled high. Here’s a look at how people are handling the weather:

___

RUSH HOUR WARNINGS

In the Baltimore-Washington region, officials urged commuters to leave early and avoid a snowy rush hour.

Forecasts called for a possible 1 to 2 inches of snow between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., with low visibility, high winds, and falling temperatures. Combined, that can make for slick roads and dangerous driving conditions.

Transportation officials say it’s bad timing for a snowstorm.

___

SHOULD WE WORK?

In Kentucky, Democrats and Republicans can’t even agree on whether to work in the snowstorm.

House Democrats on Wednesday canceled meetings for the rest of the week, but Senate Republicans announced they would meet.

Forecasters expected the snow to stop on Wednesday, but temperatures could drop to as low as minus-16 degrees Thursday. Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo said many House members were concerned “about leaving their families in these conditions.”

“We think it is more prudent to be safe than sorry,” he said.

Republican Senate President Robert Stivers shot back: “We understand the hardships associated with current weather conditions, but there are plenty of businesses staying open throughout the Commonwealth and the Senate feels inclined to stay in business as well.”

TOILET SNOWPLOW

Talk about a pooper scooper.

A man in suburban Washington, D.C., attached a plow to the motorized toilet, which he had already made for a parade this past summer.

David Goldberg of Rockville, Maryland calls the contraption “Loo-cy,” and it comes complete with a toilet paper stand and a magazine rack.

Goldberg posted a YouTube video of himself sitting on the commode while plowing about 4 inches of snow Tuesday in front of a hardware store he owns in Bethesda, Maryland.

____

WINTER WINS AGAIN

Remember that New York tourism office website that suggested potential visitors should go to the Florida Keys?

Well, its website crashed.

Bruce Stoff of the Ithaca-Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau says nearly 150,000 views crashed the site on Tuesday afternoon.

On Sunday, Visitithaca.com posted images of Key West and provided links to Florida Keys websites. The site said, “We surrender” and “Winter, you win” and suggested that a visit to Key West was a better option than frozen central New York.

The upside: Stoff says his office fielded numerous inquiries about tourism in upstate New York.

___

DON’T JUMP

Boston residents overwhelmed by massive snowfalls the last month have been recording videos of themselves jumping out of windows and into snowbanks, and Mayor Marty Walsh wants them to cut it out.

Walsh chastised thrill-seekers who’ve been filming themselves performing the frosty feat and then posting the videos on social media websites.

Walsh says, “It’s a foolish thing to do, and you could kill yourself.”

He says Boston “isn’t Loon Mountain,” a New Hampshire ski resort. He said Monday the stunts are dangerous as city workers struggle to clear snow-clogged streets and deal with snowbanks 10 feet high.

___

ROOF RAGE

Massachusetts officials are stepping up warnings about the potential for roofs to collapse under the weight of snow that has built up in recent weeks.

Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Gatzunis said owners of residential and commercial buildings should be aware of signs of stress on roofs, including ceilings that are sagging or developing cracks.

Other signs could include popping or cracking sounds from the roof or attic area, and doors or windows that either won’t open or suddenly open on their own.

Numerous partial roof collapses have been reported in the state – including at a Kmart store and a high school – but no serious injuries as of Wednesday.

___

MORE COLD FOR CAROLINAS

The cold snap affected just about everyone in the Carolinas: Schools closed, people worried about tree limbs falling on homes or pipes bursting, and shelters took in more homeless people.

In Greenville, South Carolina, Frank Marshall prepared for the deep freeze, bounding from store to store Wednesday looking for bags of rock salt to help melt the ice in his driveway. No luck: Every place was out.

“Nobody has a thing,” said Marshall, 67, a retired truck driver. “You go inside and everything is about spring. Nobody expected this,”

But he joked that if his power goes out, he won’t have to worry about his refrigerated food: “I’ll just put everything outside.”

___

WARMTH IN THE WEST

While much of the rest of the country shivered, the Pacific Northwest experienced a different kind of February, with record-breaking high temperatures. Flowers blossomed, bees buzzed, and the sky was blue. Temperatures have crept north of 60 degrees. But low temperatures have meant headaches for skiers and snowboarders. Nearly all ski resorts in western Washington have partially or completely closed – there’s not enough snow.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

After a busy week of roster shuffling, Russell Westbook finally got his first look at his new teammates on the floor.

When asked how the Thunder might look once players like Kyle Singler, Enes Kanter and D.J. Augustin get acquainted to the system and Kevin Durant and Steven Adams return to the lineup from injuries, Westbook couldn’t help but break into a wide smile.

“Uh oh,” Westbrook said, as if sending a message to the rest of the league.

With Durant resting his foot, Westbrook continued his hot play with 33 points and 10 assists, Serge Ibaka and Kanter added double-doubles and the Thunder defeated the Charlotte Hornets 110-103 on Saturday night for their fifth straight win.

“We feel confident with what we have as a unit, especially with the great pieces we have,” Westbrook said. “Once we get everybody healthy and rolling we are going to be tough to beat. For now we have to come in every night and take care of business.”

It was the latest stellar night for Westbrook, who had 34 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday against the Mavericks.

“Russell’s been a leader for many, many years and he’s done a great job of doing that,” coach Scott Brooks said. “He understands the situation and he understands that we have a lot of new guys. His communicating on the court, at halftime, during timeouts, was great. He’s a leader and guys listen to him.”

Westbrook was 12 of 27 from the field and a perfect 9 of 9 from the foul line, stretching his streak of consecutive foul shots made to 43, about halfway to the NBA record of 97 straight.

Ibaka had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Kanter had 10 points and 13 rebounds in his first game with the Thunder, who have won nine straight against Charlotte and moved five games above .500 for the first time this season.

Augustin had 12 points in his debut with the Thunder, including a key 3-pointer in the final two minutes on a dish from Westbrook. Singler had six points but only took six shots.

The Thunder dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Hornets 59-41 and had 20 second-chance points. Kanter had five offensive rebounds.

Westbrook’s latest big night overshadowed Mo Williams’ stellar debut for the Hornets. The veteran point guard got the start over Brian Roberts and had 24 points and 12 assists after being acquired in a trade with Minnesota. He was 5 of 10 from beyond the arc, and reached 1,000 career 3-pointers.

Al Jefferson had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had a season-high 20 points for Charlotte, which has lost four straight.

Jefferson said he wasn’t surprised Williams played well right out of the gates.

“You don’t see the gray hair on his head?” Jefferson said. “He’s an old guy and has been around a long time. He has pretty much seen every offense or played against every offense. It doesn’t take him too long to adjust.”

Williams said coach Steve Clifford “made it easy for him” to play his own style.

Williams was pleased overall with the effort, but pointed to several mistakes he made that need to be corrected.

Charlotte trailed by as many as 12 in the third quarter, but battled back to pull even at 94 midway through the fourth quarter behind five 3-pointers by Williams.

But Westbrook took over, scoring on three straight offensive possessions on drives to the basket to push the lead to 104-96 with 2:53 left. Charlotte could never get in a position to challenge for the lead again.

Singler and Kanter both started for the Thunder.

They got off to a quick start with their new team, with Singler feeding Kanter for a dunk off a give-and-go in the game’s opening minute.

Durant’s status is uncertain, but he has not been ruled out for Sunday’s game against Denver. He underwent surgery on the foot in October.

TIP-INS

Thunder: Adams sat out with a fracture of his fourth metacarpal in his right hand. … Ibaka was charged with a flagrant one foul in the third quarter on Cody Zeller.

Hornets: Clifford said backup center Bismack Biyombo will miss at least another three games while recovering from a bone bruise in his right knee. … Lance Stephenson and Jefferson were assessed technical fouls.

AUGUSTIN AT 2

Late in the game, the Thunder moved Augustin to shooting guard and he knocked down a big 3-pointer to keep the Hornets at bay. Augustin said he hasn’t played that position since he was a rookie playing for Charlotte, but said he was thrilled to be paired alongside Westbrook in crunch time.

UP NEXT

Thunder: Host Denver on Sunday night.

Hornets: Visit Dallas on Sunday night.

As a resident of South Carolina for going on 14 years now, I’ve been traveling to Charlotte, NC (just across our northern boarder) on nights and weekends since I was a freshman at Clemson University. On a whim, we would drive up to Charlotte for a day of shopping at South Park mall and after I turned 21, we would spend the weekends enjoying drag shows or dancing at many of Charlotte’s LGBT friendly nightlife establishments.

Before I met my husband, there were times that I came to Charlotte for fancy dinner dates, and then when my husband got a job at UNC-Charlotte, I was there practically every other weekend. I also remember when IKEA opened, I made the pilgrimage with friends a number of times to purchase low cost home furnishings to take back to our apartments and homes in South Carolina.

Then there was the time that Broadway musical ‘Wicked’ came to Charlotte and not Columbia, SC where I currently live. A group of 25 of us from the SC Gay + Lesbian Business Guild made the trek to Charlotte to eat at P.F. Chang’s before heading over to see the show at Ovens Auditorium. More recently, Charlotte Pride has been holding an amazing weekend-long street festival and many of us from South Carolina come for several days of festivities, filling hotels and spending our money at restaurants and shops around town. 

This weekend, I am again traveling to Charlotte to attend HRC’s North Carolina gala at the Charlotte Convention Center. More than 1,000 people from across the Carolinas will descend on Charlotte this weekend, boosting the local economy with our tourism dollars. 

Q-Notes reports that right now, Charlotte’s city council is considering four ordinance changes. They would add five characteristics – marital status, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression – to protected classes already listed in the city’s public accommodations, Commercial Non-Discrimination, Passenger Vehicle for Hire and Community Relations Committee ordinances.

As a visitor and tourist to Charlotte who spends thousands of dollars here each year on public accommodations, from hotels to restaurants to local shops, I need Charlotte’s City Council to pass these human rights ordinances to protect me from potential discrimination each time I visit. When my family leaves our home in Columbia, SC, which has had similar non-discrimination protections at the city and county level for over 7 years, we hope to find the same protections from discrimination in place when we reach Charlotte.  

I need to know that when my husband and I check into our hotel room this weekend, we won’t be turned away because we requested only one bed. I seek the peace of mind that when we tell our waitress that our dinner will be on one check, we won’t be refused service. I want to know that when I spend my hard earned money, then we are supporting a local economy that welcomes our business.

Because I’ve seen first hand how Charlotte has grown over the past 14 years, I know that this city is striving to become a world-class city. I believe passing these LGBT-inclusive ordinances will make Charlotte even more competitive as a leading tourist destination. It’s time for Charlotte to follow the leadership of my hometown along with over 200 municipalities around the US and vote to protect its LGBT residents, taxpayers, and visitors. 

We need your help now to make sure fair-minded voices are heard in anticipation of the March 2nd vote. Write your Charlotte City Council members now and urge them to vote for a fair and equal Charlotte.

And don’t forget to join us on March 2nd, at 6:30 p.m., at the Charlotte City Council meeting to show your support in-person for equality for all Charlotteans.