A home sits on the edge of a cliff yesterday after it's concrete portion was washed away in a mudslide caused by heavy rains in Hollywood, California.
St. Louis: States across the nation’s midsection are bracing for another round of winter storms expected to add to thick ice that already has glazed roads, grounded flights and prompted class cancellations amid warnings that people stay home.
Winter storms are typically associated with heavy snowfall, but the one that began hammering the southern Plains and Midwest yesterday dumped freezing rain — a condition even harder for road crews to treat. A slick roadway was suspected in a fatal wreck yesterday in Missouri, where long stretches of Interstate 44 and Interstate 55 were ice-covered.
More freezing precipitation was expected in parts of nation’s central corridor throughout most of the holiday weekend.
While many motorists heeded warnings to avoid road travel, Butch Shadrick said his towing service in Missouri’s St. Clair, about 50 miles southwest of St. Louis, said his fleet of five trucks handled at least eight calls for travellers who found themselves in ditches or other wrecks. That was after storms left about a quarter of an inch of sleet on that region, with accumulation expected to double today.
“There’s not a lot of people out there, but the ones who are are the ones paying the consequences,” Shadrick said from his Hoffman’s Towing & Service business.
In Kansas, the state’s National Guard was mobilising in advance of today's storm, designating roughly 200 guardsmen to patrol key roads and help motorists stranded by icy conditions. The teams of soldiers also were to provide emergency transportation for law enforcers and other emergency responders, while staying ready to make warming stations available at local armories as needed.
Hundreds of schools were closed, including several college campuses. St. Louis closed all city operations as it braced for what could be its worst ice storm in at least a decade. Several Missouri prisons halted visiting hours.
The weather atmosphere was so turbulent that thunder rumbled as freezing rain fell in Joplin, Missouri.
Several utility companies brought in all available crew who were working extended shifts in anticipation of heavy ice snapping trees and power lines. Scattered outages were reported, including about 2,500 in Springfield, Missouri.
Forecasters issued ice storm warnings from the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles into southern Illinois, with up to 1 inch of ice expected in some locations. Precipitation is forecast to fall in waves today.
Residents were taking the warnings seriously. Grocery stores were selling out of bread, milk and other necessities, and hardware stores were running out of flashlights, batteries and alternative energy sources.
“They’re grabbing generators, and I’m sold out,” said Raymond Bopp, assistant manager of the Woodward Ace Hardware store in Woodward, Oklahoma.
Several states activated emergency management procedures. In Oklahoma, Governor Mary Fallin declared a disaster emergency. The state set up generators and supplies at temporary shelters in northern part of the state. Missouri Governor Eric Greitens and top Cabinet officials manned an emergency operations centre.
Missouri Department of Transportation crew were working 12-hour shifts to treat roads and highways, said Linda Wilson Horn, a MoDOT spokeswoman. She said some of the freezing rain washed chemicals away as it melted.
“It’ll be a long, constant battle for our crews,” Horn said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Tiffany Jackson, 33, died yesterday when her Chevy Trailblazer slid on an icy overpass on Interstate 55 near Festus, south of St. Louis, and struck several trees. The patrol said at least two other people were hurt in weather-related wrecks.
Lambert Airport spokesman Jeff Lea said that 60 arriving flights and 48 departing flights at Missouri’s largest airport had been cancelled due to the ice. Some flights were cancelled at Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport.
