Snow, ice blanket parts of U.S.; winter weather advisory issued for part of Arkansas

Snow falls on U.S. 65 over Peyton Creek south of Leslie in this photo taken from an Arkansas Department of Transportation camera.
Snow falls on U.S. 65 over Peyton Creek south of Leslie in this photo taken from an Arkansas Department of Transportation camera.

UPDATE:

The northern part of Arkansas, stretching from Fort Smith to Clinton, got the brunt of the snowfall Saturday, said Joe Goudsward, senior forecaster at the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.

Saturday brought flurries to central Arkansas and rain to the southern part of the state, Goudward said.

Danny Straessle, spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Transportation, said the agency sent salt trucks to rural roads in north and northwest Arkansas. He said the agency had received some accident reports on those routes but that interstates were relatively clear.

“We’ve not had a lot of problems on the primary routes,” he said.

Since temperatures in central Arkansas remained above freezing throughout the day, Straessle said he did not expect snow to stick to the roads. Still, he said motorists should be vigilant if driving after dark or on Sunday morning, as dropping temperatures after dark could result in ice patches, especially on bridges and overpasses.

EARLIER:

DETROIT — People throughout parts of the Midwest and south woke Saturday to a heavy and steady snowfall that forced the cancellation of hundreds of airline flights and made driving dangerous.

More than 1,000 flights were canceled Saturday at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and about 50 flights were canceled at Chicago's Midway International Airport.

A United Airlines plane skidded off a runway Saturday morning at O'Hare amid the snowy and icy weather. No injuries were reported.

In the Detroit area, many motorists were moving well below posted speed limits along freeways due to slushy conditions.

Snow was falling in some parts of Arkansas, too. Winter weather advisories were in effect for parts of north-central, northern and northeast Arkansas with forecasters warning of potential "difficult travel conditions."

By 3 p.m., there were reports of snow accumulations ranging from 1 to 4 inches across eastern and northern Arkansas.

The counties in purple were under a winter weather advisory as of 3 p.m.
The counties in purple were under a winter weather advisory as of 3 p.m.

The snow was part of a wall of hazardous weather that trekked from the Dakotas and across the Great Lakes states, headed toward New England. The storm brought snow, ice and strong winds, followed by deep cold.

After dumping up to 10 inches of snow on the Midwest, the storm was expected to wallop the Northeast. The highest snowfall totals were expected in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, which could see up to 18 inches.

Amtrak canceled some trains Saturday from Chicago to Washington and New York and between New York and Boston and Pennsylvania on Sunday.

In Nebraska, authorities closed Omaha's Eppley Airfield on Friday afternoon after a Southwest Airlines plane slid off an ice-slicked runway. No one was injured.

But some Midwesterners weren't going to let a little winter weather keep them from going outside.

In downtown Detroit, Celeste Tremmel was out training for a marathon amid heavy and steady snowfall.

"When you run a marathon, you run no matter the weather," said Tremmel, who plans to run a March marathon in South Carolina.

Running in snow is "like running in sand, so you go a lot slower and it's a lot more work," she said. "I'm really tired ... but 40 degrees, wind and hail is worse."

Further east, the National Weather Service in Albany, New York, said snow could fall at a rate of 1 to 3 inches an hour, creating "difficult to impossible travel conditions" in areas.

The storm prompted the cancellation of a Special Olympics competition in upstate New York. Nearly 200 athletes from around New York state were expected to compete in snowshoeing, snowboarding, cross country, and Nordic and Alpine skiing at West Mountain, just outside Glens Falls.

In New York City, the worst of the storm was expected from Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, with snow accumulations of 3-6 inches, followed by rain that could turn to ice as temperatures drop later Sunday. Single-digit temperatures could last into Monday. Strong wind gusts beginning Sunday afternoon could bring down snow- or ice-burdened tree limbs and power lines.

Following the storm system, some areas of the Midwest were expecting high winds and bitter cold.

In Iowa, temperatures in the teens Saturday were expected to drop below zero overnight, producing wind chills as low as 20-below by Sunday morning.

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