Deadly ice storm, perhaps worst in a decade, batters nation’s midsection
With Kansas and Missouri in the bull's eye, a winter storm descended on the nation's midsection Saturday, bringing thick ice, dangerous driving conditions and power outages as it stretched its tentacles as far east as the mid-Atlantic.
There was little chance of a letup from the icy onslaught as another round of freezing rain was forecast for Sunday morning, keeping ice warnings in place for the two states, as well as Oklahoma.
Winter storm watches forecast up to three-quarters of an inch of ice and as much as three inches of snow across the central Plains and parts of Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska.
The National Weather Service said freezing rain would continue across a wide swath of north central Oklahoma, potentially bringing an additional 1.5 inches of ice accumulation to cities like Enid and Ponca City west and northwest of Oklahoma City.
By early afternoon, Aldrich, Mo., reported 0.75 inches of ice; Bartlesville, Oklahoma, registered 0.28 inches; and Mayestown, Ill, had received 0.37 inches, according to weatherbug.com.
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Parts of Springfield, Mo., experienced a round of "thunder ice" following lightning strikes amid a buildup of more than a quarter of an inch of ice on trees, fences and parked cars, the Springfield News-Leader reported. The relatively rare phenomenon, which only occurs in especially turbulent winter weather, was also reported as freezing rain fell in Joplin, Mo., the Associated Press reported.
Ice storm warnings were in effect from the Texas Panhandle to southern Illinois, with freezing rain advisories across parts of the Ohio Valley and the central Appalachians, the National Weather Service said. It warned that ice in excess of a half inch "is enough to cause severe travel disruptions and power outages."
Colorful weather service maps showing the hardest-hit areas put Dodge City, Kan., in the deep purple center, with heavy precipitation expected Saturday night into Sunday and ice accumulations up to an inch.
At least three road deaths were blamed on the storm, including two in separate accidents in Missouri and one involving a semi-truck outside Weatherford, Okla. In Western Oklahoma, Interstate 40 was closed in two places because of accidents, according to the highway patrol.
The governors of Oklahoma and Missouri declared states of emergency, and the National Guard was mobilized in Missouri and Kansas, where some 200 guardsmen patrolled key roads and helped stranded motorists.
Nearly 4,300 homes were without power by mid-morning in Missouri and Illinois as heavy ice accumulation brought down power lines, KSDK-TV reported.
Hundreds of schools were closed Friday in the target areas, as well as several college campuses. St. Louis closed all city operations and braced for what could be its worst ice storm in at least a decade.
In Kansas City, the NFL moved the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs from noon to Sunday evening to allow more time to treat roads and parking lots at Arrowhead Stadium.
Missouri Department of Transportation crews were working 12-hour shifts to treat roads and highways, said Linda Wilson Horn, a MoDOT spokeswoman. She said some of the freezing rain washed the chemicals away as it melted.
“It’ll be a long, constant battle for our crews,” Horn said, according to the Associated Press.
Residents were taking the warnings seriously. Grocery stores were selling out of bread, milk and other necessities, and hardware stores were running out of flashlights, batteries and alternative energy sources.
“They’re grabbing generators, and I’m sold out,” said Raymond Bopp, assistant manager of the Woodward Ace Hardware store in Woodward, Okla., about 140 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.
The threat of sleet and ice will linger in the Plains and mid-Mississippi Valley through Sunday, when it will spread to Nebraska and Iowa during the day and into the upper Midwest at night, according to The Weather Channel.
Widespread power outages, downed trees and havoc on the roadways is likely to continue in the central Plains into Sunday evening.
Contributing: The Associated Press