CNN
—
A winter storm bringing the triple menace of ice, sleet and snow Tuesday to elements of the South and central US has prompted officers to shut roads and faculties as they urge individuals to keep away from touring in harmful situations.
More than 40 million individuals from southeastern New Mexico to West Virginia are underneath varied types of winter climate alerts, together with warnings of harmful ice accumulations which can be already making roads a nightmare, notably in Texas, the place roadways across the state have been shut down as first responders fan out to assist motorists.
One particular person has already been confirmed dead in a 10-car pileup in south Austin, in accordance with the Austin Fire Department. A second particular person was killed in Arlington, Texas, when their car rolled over, Arlington police stated.
And northeast of the metropolis, two individuals concerned in a multivehicle collision alongside Highway 130 have been taken to a neighborhood hospital with life-threatening accidents after going over the facet of an overpass bridge, per Austin-Travis County EMS.
One of the victims had exited their car earlier than being struck by a automotive and thrown off the bridge, Capt. Darren Noak stated, whereas the different noticed a car sliding towards them and jumped off the bridge to keep away from being hit.
FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES: Millions in the South and central US brace for ice storm
Aside from the hazardous journey situations, the National Weather Service warned in its forecast Monday that the ice storm would “lead to tree damage and power outages across the hardest-hit regions.”
Cities underneath ice storm warnings embrace Memphis, Tennessee, and Little Rock, Arkansas, whereas a slew of Texas cities – amongst them Dallas, San Antonio, San Angelo and Waco – are underneath winter storm warnings.
Freezing rain is already being reported across the South Tuesday morning, with ice accumulations of one-tenth of an inch to three-tenths of an inch recorded in elements of Arkansas, Texas and Kentucky since Monday.
The heaviest ice accumulation is forecast across massive parts of Texas, which may see one- to three-quarters of an inch by means of Thursday morning. One-quarter inch of ice is feasible across a wider swath of the area, together with southern Oklahoma, Arkansas, northwestern Mississippi and elements of Tennessee.
Here’s what to anticipate all through the day:
• Oklahoma City will see temporary icing Tuesday morning, whereas the afternoon will carry important icing to central Texas, central Arkansas and western Tennessee.
• Texas might be coping with widespread icy situations, with the heaviest accumulation probably coming Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning. Drivers in Dallas, San Antonio and Austin can anticipate harmful situations on roads.
• Residents in Oklahoma City are underneath a winter climate advisory by means of Wednesday afternoon, with the expectation of seeing as much as two-tenths of an inch of ice.
• Icing as much as two-tenths of an inch may additionally be seen in Louisville, Kentucky, whereas Charleston, West Virginia, may even see sleet as much as an inch and ice as much as a tenth of an inch.
• The first wave of freezing rain will start to weaken as it strikes towards West Virginia by late morning.
(*2*)
Since Monday, EMS crews in the Dallas-Fort Worth space have responded to at the least 142 site visitors accidents, together with 16 rollover crashes, in accordance with MedStar, a regional EMS authority. In Austin, the fireplace division has responded to at the least 19 site visitors accidents stemming from ice on the roads since midnight, it stated on Twitter early Tuesday.
In Texas, the governor requested the state’s emergency administration division to extend its assets so it may be prepared to reply by means of Thursday, whereas the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, stated it anticipated to “meet forecasted demand” – a sign the utility, which accounts for about 90% of the state’s electrical energy, goals to keep away from a repeat of the massive power outages that left millions freezing for days throughout a winter storm two years in the past.
Several faculty districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth space and Austin are closed Tuesday and greater than 400 flights departing from Texas airports have been canceled.
In Arkansas, the governor declared a state of emergency Monday and activated the winter climate help groups of the state’s National Guard to be ready to assist reply to the storm.
“I encourage Arkansans who are experiencing winter weather to avoid travel if possible and heed the warnings of local officials,” Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Twitter.
The emergency order directs $250,000 towards discretionary use by the head of the state’s Division of Emergency Management to supply funding for program and administrative prices, the order acknowledged.
“The real enemy is going to be that ice,” said Dave Parker, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Transportation. “This could potentially be a pretty dangerous situation.”
Most of the state is predicted to be impacted, and the state is treating most main roads, Parker added.
The wintry situations have additionally prompted greater than 1,000 flight cancellations inside, into, or out of the US, together with greater than 400 flights departing from Texas airports, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
The storm is poised to hit areas in the southern and central areas in waves by means of Wednesday.
And whereas the forecast exhibits there might be intervals of reprieve over the subsequent two days, roads will probably be dangerously slick all through the storm as temperatures stay low.
Tuesday is predicted to be the hardest day for driving as Texas bridges and roads develop into icy, in accordance with the climate service’s Fort Worth workplace.
“More widespread freezing rain/sleet is expected Tuesday and Wednesday morning, with worsening travel impacts during this time,” the native climate company stated.
Significant icing of about half of an inch is predicted on roads in Austin, San Angelo and Dallas. whereas San Antonio may even see as much as a tenth of an inch of ice.
Meantime, Texas’ main electrical energy supplier, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, instructed CNN will probably be capable of meet residents’ demand as temperatures plummet.
“We expect sufficient generation to meet forecasted demand and are continuing to monitor forecasts, this week. We are not asking for Conservation at this time. We are informing the public that IF they … experience an outage to reach out to their local power provider,” the company stated in an e-mail.
In Dyer County, Tennessee, icy situations led officers to close down the Interstate 155 bridge, in accordance with the highway patrol.
submit credit score to Source link