Central Plains hit with deadly ice storm, brace for more
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Parts of the central U.S. grappled Saturday with a second day of road-glazing ice and braced for more of the treacherous, below-freezing wintry weather expected to close out the holiday weekend.
“Significant freezing rain across portions of the Central and Southern Plains may cause downed trees, power outages, and travel difficulties,” the National Weather Service said on Saturday. “Freezing rain is expected to stretch from the Central U.S. into the Mid-Atlantic States this weekend.”
At least three people were killed on slippery roads in Missouri and Oklahoma. The severe weather is moving east -- and nearly 50 million Americans are under storm watches and warnings.
Across the central U.S., thousands lost power and hundred of flights were canceled or delayed. States of emergency were declared in Oklahmoa and Missouri, and in Kansas, the National Guard mobilized to help stranded drivers. More than 20 drivers were involved in a pile-up overnight in Witchita, caused by what drivers called a “sheet of ice,” CBS affliate KCTV reports.
The weather service also said heavy snow is possible in the Central and Southern Rockies, and that there is a threat of severe thunderstorms for central Texas on Sunday.
The storm created travel headaches for many people who opted to go out despite pleas by authorities to stay put. Slick roads and bridges resulted in several crashes north of Tulsa, Oklahoma, early on Saturday, CBS Tulsa affiliate KOTV reported.
In Pawhuska, Oklahoma, people said they were ready for the round of freezing rain.
“We’ve got flashlights and batteries, we have a generator, we’re ready to go,” Pawhuska resident Susie Povance said, KOTV reported on Friday.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Interstate 40 was closed in two places in western portions of the state because of wrecks, including the jackknifing of several tractor-trailers in icy conditions in Caddo County. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Saturday’s storm followed another Friday that dumped freezing rain from Oklahoma to southern Illinois. Reporting from Hominy, Oklahoma, CBS News’ Omar Villfranca said on Friday that tens of millions of people were in the path of the winter blast. He said the state’s governor declared a state of emergency on Thursday so crews could prep roads.
The National Weather Service said swaths of Kansas and Missouri -- both broadly still under ice storm warnings Saturday -- could see a third wave of sleet and freezing drizzle Sunday. Complicating matters were temperatures forecast in many cases to remain near or below freezing.
It's happening... things are beginning to freeze over in downtown Wichita. #KWCH12 #Storm12 pic.twitter.com/K1M1EWjqQb
— Katie Johnston (@KWCHKatie) January 15, 2017
Ice buildups of one-quarter to slightly less than a half inch were expected late Saturday and Sunday morning from southeastern Kansas to central Missouri. Lesser ice accumulations were forecast for Saturday around St. Louis.
State troopers in Missouri and other affected states were pressing motorists to limit travel to only necessary outings, allowing road crews the space to treat the slippery mess. Many appeared to heed that advice, drawing kudos from the Missouri Department of Transportation, which scrambled around-the-clock to mitigate the glazed roads.
“We are keeping up with the changing conditions, but it is a continual battle,” said Becky Allmeroth, a state maintenance engineer for the department who called ice “the most difficult storm to fight.
“The precipitation is coming in waves, and we have to apply more salt,” she said.
A slick roadway was suspected in a Missouri wreck Friday that killed a 33-year-old woman whose sport utility vehicle slid on an icy freeway overpass south of St. Louis and struck several trees.
The storm’s onset prompted the NFL to move the AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the host Kansas Chiefs to Sunday evening to allow more time to treat roads and parking lots at Arrowhead Stadium. The game was scheduled to kick off at noon but now will start at 7:20 p.m.
Many residents had prepared for the storms by stocking up on bread, milk and other necessities and by buying flashlights and generators to have on hand in case power gets knocked out.