Millions across the South and central US brace for ice storm as officials urge staying off roads - CNN

CNN  — 

A winter tempest bringing the triple menace of ice, sleet and snowfall Tuesday to parts of the South and cardinal US has prompted officials to adjacent roads and schools arsenic they impulse radical to debar traveling successful unsafe conditions.

About 38 cardinal radical from Texas and Oklahoma to arsenic acold eastbound arsenic Kentucky and West Virginia are nether assorted forms of wintertime upwind alerts, including those informing of unsafe crystal accumulations forecast to marque roads a nightmare.

“In summation to perchance hazardous question conditions, this magnitude of crystal volition pb to histrion harm and powerfulness outages crossed the hardest-hit regions,” the National Weather Service warned successful its forecast Monday.

In Texas, residents successful cities including Dallas, San Antonio and Austin tin expect icy roads arsenic good arsenic immoderate sleet Tuesday, erstwhile dense rainfall and flash flooding are besides imaginable successful the eastbound parts of the state.

Amid specified conditions, the politician has requested the state’s exigency absorption part to summation its resources truthful it tin beryllium acceptable to respond done Thursday.

The tempest has besides led respective schoolhouse districts successful the Dallas-Fort Worth country and Austin to adjacent Tuesday, and much than 400 flights departing from Texas airports person been cancelled. Multiple roadways successful Texas person been unopen down owed to crystal accumulation, according to the state’s proscription department.

As crystal began forming connected roads successful Little Rock, Arkansas, the politician declared a authorities of exigency Monday and activated the wintertime upwind enactment teams of the state’s National Guard to beryllium prepared successful helping constabulary successful their effect to the storm.

“I promote Arkansans who are experiencing wintertime upwind to debar question if imaginable and heed the warnings of section officials,” Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said connected Twitter.

The exigency bid directs $250,000 toward discretionary usage by the caput of the state’s Division of Emergency Management to supply backing for programme and administrative costs, the bid stated.

“The existent force is going to beryllium that ice,” said Dave Parker, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Transportation. “This could perchance beryllium a beauteous unsafe situation.”

Parker added that bulk of the authorities is expected to beryllium impacted, and the authorities is treating astir large roads.

By precocious Monday, crystal had already dispersed crossed grounds successful Memphis, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky, arsenic good arsenic Texas, wherever astatine slightest a fewer car crashes were reported successful Austin with nary injuries.

The tempest is poised to nutrient a premix of wintry precipitation ranging from rainfall and sleet to crystal and it volition deed areas successful the confederate and cardinal regions successful waves done Wednesday.

And portion the forecast shows determination volition beryllium periods of reprieve implicit the adjacent 2 days, roads volition apt stay dangerously slick passim the tempest arsenic temperatures stay low.

Indeed, Tuesday is expected to beryllium the toughest time for driving arsenic Texas bridges and roads go icy, according to the upwind service’s Fort Worth office.

“More wide freezing rain/sleet is expected Tuesday and Wednesday morning, with worsening question impacts during this time,” the section upwind bureau said.

Significant icing of astir fractional of an inch is expected connected roads successful Austin, San Angelo and Dallas portion San Antonio whitethorn spot up to a tenth of an inch of ice.

Meantime, Texas’ superior energy provider, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, told CNN it volition beryllium capable to conscionable residents’ request arsenic temperatures plummet.

“We expect capable procreation to conscionable forecasted request and are continuing to show forecasts, this week. We are not asking for Conservation astatine this time. We are informing the nationalist that IF they are acquisition an outage to scope retired to their section powerfulness provider,” the bureau said successful an email.

Elsewhere successful the South, up to a fractional of an inch of crystal could glaze roads successful Memphis, Tennessee. In the state’s Dyer County, icy conditions led officials to unopen down the I-155 bridge, according to the highway patrol.

Meanwhile, Little Rock successful Arkansas is forecast to spot aggregate rounds of crystal that could amass up to fractional an inch.

In neighboring Oklahoma, residents successful Oklahoma City are nether a wintertime upwind advisory done Wednesday afternoon, with the anticipation of seeing up to 2 tenths of an inch of ice.

Icing up to two-tenths of an inch could beryllium seen successful Louisville, Kentucky, portion Charleston, West Virginia, tin spot sleet up to an inch and crystal up to a tenth of an inch.