Snow and ice blanketed massive swaths of the US on Sunday, prompting canceled flights, making driving perilous and reaching into areas as far south as Texas’ Gulf Coast, the place snow and sleet have been anticipated in a single day.
“Typically, we just don’t have quite this much cold air in place that far south,” mentioned Marc Chenard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.
The storm has prompted officers in Houston, the place temperatures have been within the 70s (20s Celsius) earlier this week, to advise residents to arrange for energy outages and unsafe roads that might be much like these skilled within the wake of a Category 5 hurricane.
As rain fell Sunday within the Houston space, the temperature hovered close to freezing. “This rain will be transitioning over to just freezing rain, sleet and snow during the overnight through early morning hours tomorrow,” mentioned National Weather Service meteorologist Josh Lichter.
Chenard mentioned important ice and as much as 12 inches (30 centimeters) of snow have been anticipated throughout elements of the southern Plains into Monday.
Winter climate circumstances are affecting massive parts of the US, however it’s uncommon for them to increase to date south, Chenard mentioned.
The Dallas space had a masking of snow by Sunday morning, with flakes nonetheless falling, and as a lot as 6 inches (15 centimeters) was forecast.
With the wintry circumstances falling on Valentine’s Day, florists stayed busy even because the snow fell.
In Fort Worth, the place it was already icy and snowy, Gordon Boswell Flowers’ common supervisor mentioned supply drivers have been attempting to wrap up earlier than circumstances obtained worse later Sunday afternoon.
“It is icy and snowing and they’re calling for more snow,” Cheri Kirkman mentioned.
Despite the climate, she mentioned they nonetheless had some folks coming in to select up presents. “We’ve got plenty all made up, ready to go,” Kirkman mentioned.
Drivers make their approach alongside a street throughout a winter storm Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who issued a catastrophe declaration for all the state’s 254 counties, warned on Saturday: “All of Texas is facing an extremely dangerous winter storm.”
Abbott, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have every activated National Guard models to help state companies with duties together with rescuing stranded drivers.
In an announcement Sunday evening, President Joe Biden additionally declared an emergency in Texas and ordered federal help to help state and native response efforts. The declaration permits the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate catastrophe aid efforts and supply help, gear and assets to these affected by the storm.
The climate was affecting operations at airports throughout the realm, with greater than 760 flights canceled at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and at Dallas Love Field a lot of the practically 200 flights for Southwest Airlines, the airport’s principal service, have been canceled.
American Airlines mentioned about 345 of their flights have been canceled at DFW Airport, its hub, by early Sunday afternoon. The airline mentioned the storm was additionally affecting their flights throughout the area, with operations lowered and canceled at airports throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Officials have been discouraging journey within the wintry circumstances. By early Sunday afternoon, the Texas Highway Patrol had reported a number of multi-car pileups in West Texas, together with one which concerned 25 automobiles and shut down a portion of Interstate 20 westbound.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol mentioned a portion of the Turner Turnpike was shut down on account of a mutli-vehicle accident, whereas the Oklahoma Department of Transportation mentioned the southern hall of Interstate 35 was principally snow packed within the left lane and circumstances have been anticipated to deteriorate.
The National Weather Service mentioned Sunday that the forecast by means of early Tuesday requires 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 centimeters) of snow in central Oklahoma, and 4 to eight inches (10 to twenty centimeters) in an space extending from jap Texas to the Ohio Valley within the Northeast.
In Memphis, Tennessee, snow had began falling, and whereas principal roads have been nonetheless satisfactory, traces have been forming at grocery shops as folks rushed to fill up.
In Mississippi, sleet in Jackson and different central elements of the state left roads and bridges slick. Bill Parker, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Jackson, mentioned as much as three-quarters of an inch of ice might accumulate in central Mississippi, bringing the potential for energy outages or falling tree limbs.
Parts of Kentucky and West Virginia nonetheless recovering from an ice storm final week are anticipated to stand up to a quarter-inch (0.6 centimeters) of ice or as much as 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow by Tuesday. About 19,000 prospects remained with out electrical energy in southern West Virginia and about 9,000 in jap Kentucky on Sunday from the storm that moved by means of on Wednesday and Thursday.
Utilities warned of the chance for added energy outages on account of falling tree limbs. Hundreds of utility crews and contractors have been touring Sunday to be in place if further outages occurred.
In Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the movement of electrical energy within the state, was asking prospects to cut back electrical energy use as a lot as attainable by means of Tuesday, together with closing shades to cut back the quantity of warmth misplaced by means of home windows and avoiding the usage of massive home equipment.
