DALLAS– A powerful winter storm that dumped heavy snow and glazed roads with ice across much of Texas and Oklahoma drifted east into southern U.S. states overnight, prompting governors to declare a state of emergency and close schools to close the entire region.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders mobilized the National Guard to help stranded motorists. School was canceled Friday for millions of children across much of the Southern states, from Texas to Georgia and as far east as South Carolina.
The heaviest snowfall was expected Friday in the northern half of Arkansas and much of Tennessee, with totals in some parts of those states ranging from 6 to 9 inches (about 15 to 22 centimeters), according to the National Weather Service.
Further south and east, into Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, a wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain made travel treacherous.
The storm dumped as much as 7 inches (about 18 centimeters) in some spots in central Oklahoma and northern Texas before moving into Arkansas. More than 4,500 flights were delayed and another 2,000 canceled on Thursday. More delays and cancellations are expected on Friday.
“I haven’t seen any accidents, but I have seen a few people stuck on the road and sliding around,” said Charles Daniel, a truck driver hauling a 45-foot trailer loaded with paint. parts and other supplies Thursday through slick, muddy roads in central Oklahoma. “People don’t have to drive.”
The polar vortex of ultracold air usually orbits the North Pole, but sometimes ventures south into the US, Europe and Asia. Some experts say that such events paradoxically become more common because: warming world.
The cold wave coincided rare forest fires in January rips through the Los Angeles area.
Paul Kirkwood, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said the storm that passed through the Dallas area will produce a “band of snow” affecting parts of Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott urged residents to avoid driving if possible. Roads could be dangerous as 75,000 fans were expected at AT on Friday&T Stadium in Arlington for the college football championship semifinal between The state of Texas and Ohio in the Cotton Bowl.
The system was expected to move northeast with heavy snow and freezing rain on Friday, all the way to the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina. As much as 8 inches (about 20 centimeters) of snow could fall into parts from Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia through Saturday, the weather service said.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency Thursday as snow and ice surrounded the northern half of the state starting Friday morning. Weather service forecasters warned that snow and ice are likely to accumulate in metro Atlanta, making roads treacherous and possibly causing power outages.
Public school systems in metro Atlanta and north Georgia canceled in-person classes Friday, with more than 1 million students given a snow day or told to stay home and learn online.
In Tennessee, Memphis-Shelby County Schools, the state’s largest district with more than 100,000 students, closed all schools on Friday. With Memphis expected to receive up to 8 inches (20.3 centimeters) of snow, officials said two warming centers will be open 24 hours a day to provide shelter for people needing to escape the cold.
Parts of South Carolina were bracing for the first winter weather in three years. The Department of Transportation dusted off its brine and salt supplies and began treating interstates and other major highways from northern Columbia on Thursday. School systems in those areas will close early Friday or all day, or hold online learning days.
In North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm, which forecasters said could bring up to 3 inches of snow to many parts of the state, with higher amounts in mountain areas. Sleet and sleet were also likely.
The approaching storm led to the cancellation of an outdoor public inauguration ceremony for Stein and other statewide elected officials in Raleigh on Saturday.
Richmond, Virginia, was under fire a boil water advisory While officials worked to restore the water reservoir system, which was shut down Monday after a storm caused a power outage, Mayor Danny Avula said.
The city of more than 200,000 residents distributed bottled water at 11 locations and delivered it to elderly residents and others unable to reach those locations, officials said.
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Associated Press reporters Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City, Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta, Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas, Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia, Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, John Raby in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, and Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report.
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Read more about the AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment.