US sheriff cancels Valentine's Day

The citizens of Oconee County in the US state of Georgia won't be celebrating Valentine's Day this year — by proclamation of the local sheriff.

"The Oconee County Sheriff's Office announces that Valentine's Day has been CANCELLED from a line North of I-16 [interstate highway] to the Georgia/Tennessee border," declared Sheriff Scott Berry via a tongue-in-cheek post on his office's Facebook page.

Cold is to blame for Berry's decree — cold weather, that is, not a cold heart.

A major storm is breathing ice and snow across the eastern US, knocking out power, cancelling flights and causing havoc on the roads.

Sheriff Berry's "cancelled" Valentine's Day to ensure county residents stay indoors instead of venturing out to buy presents.

"Men who live in the designated 'NO VALENTINE'S DAY ZONE' are exempt from having to run out and buy lottery scratchers and Hershey bars from the corner stores until February 18, 2014, due to ice, snow, freezing rain," the Facebook post said.

Dispatcher John Ogle told CNN that Sheriff Berry was also trying to "cut the monotony" of working long, cold shifts.

Mr Ogle added that his wife had told him the declaration "didn't apply" to their Valentine's Day plans.