Winter storms pour snow and ice; blamed for deadly Alabama tornado
- The heaviest snow – up to two inches per hour – is expected overnight and through Friday morning
- More than 5,000 flights have been canceled and thousands of customers lost power early Thursday.
- The storm dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of the Midwest
ONE big winter storm hit the Northeast on Thursday night after the weather system canceled thousands of flights, knocked out power in parts of six states and created a deadly tornado in Alabama.
A layer of snow could fall or more Saturday morning over a northeast stretch from Maine to western parts of Pennsylvania, According to the National Weather Service. Farther south, an ice sheet is expected to extend more than 1,000 miles from New England to western Tennessee.
The heaviest snowfall – up to 2 inches per hour – is expected overnight and through Friday morning, the Weather Service said.
Forecasters also warned of strong thunderstorms along the warmer regions of the storm in Mississippi and Alabama.
In western Alabama, a tornado that hit a rural area Thursday afternoon killed one person, a woman he found under rubble and three others seriously injured, said the Director of Emergency Management. of Hale County, Russell Weeden told WBRC-TV.
More than 5,000 flights were canceled on Thursday, according to the tracker Flightaware.com. More than 250,000 customers in Texas, Arkansas, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Tennessee lost power, according to Poweroutage.us.
The storm dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of the Midwest, bringing even rare measurable amounts of snow to parts of Texas.
“It was a slow-moving storm,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Dan Pydynowski told USA TODAY. “Such an extended storm not only makes travel difficult for extended periods of time, but it also allows freezing rain to accumulate up to about an inch in some areas, which can cause power outages,” he said. .”
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Texas has ice and snow; Oklahoma City Breaks Groundhog Day Snow Record
In Dallas, up to a quarter inch of ice and 3 inches of hail and snow are expected, the weather agency said. Much of northern Texas up to the border with Oklahoma could see 1 to 3 inches of snow, according to the forecast.
Farther south, Austin could see up to a quarter of an inch in ice build-up, and San Antonio could see up to a tenth of an inch.
Governor Greg Abbott urged Texans to stay off the roads and said the state’s power system should be able to handle the freeze. Last year, long winter weather knocks electricity for millions.
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The weather service office in Norman, Oklahoma, An additional 3 inches of snow is forecast for Oklahoma City on Thursday and surrounding areas possibly 4 to 6 inches.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt declare a state of emergency Tuesday before winter weather.
Ice raises concerns in the South; ‘double peril’ in Tennessee
Ice storm warnings are in effect for areas east of Arkansas and Missouri, west of Kentucky and Tennessee, and north of Mississippi.
“Significant frost is expected” in much of central Kentucky, according to the forecast office in Louisville. Some areas may grow more than half an inch.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency Wednesday, and many schools in the state Classes are canceled or plans for distance learning have been announced.
“If everything is fine right now, this is the real deal,” Beshear said on Wednesday. “It’s dangerous. People need to be prepared, especially to stay off the roads tomorrow, and potentially be ready for this emergency over the next few days.”
Ice began accumulating Thursday in parts of West Tennessee, including Memphis, causing power outages and dangerous road conditions when commuting to work in the morning. Memphis could see half to three-quarters of an inch of ice by the time the storm made landfall on Friday.
In Central Tennessee, flooding and freezing rain are expected to be “double peril“, according to the Nashville Weather Service office.
“In areas with more than a quarter of an inch of ice, that’s when concerns start to grow about power outages due to the weight of the ice on power lines and limbs,” said Pydynowski, of AccuWeather. trees,” said Pydynowski, of AccuWeather.
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Heavy snowfall in the Midwest, Northeast
In the Midwest and Northeast, cities that could see half a foot to more than a foot of snow include Indianapolis; St. Louis; Cleveland; Rochester, New York; Burlington, Vermont; and Augusta, Maine.
Wednesday’s storm brought more than a foot of snow to areas in Illinois and Missouri. In central Missouri, officials closed part of Interstate 70. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Missouri Governor Mike Parson declared a state of emergency Tuesday.
Parts of Ohio and central Indiana could see 3 to 12 inches of snow while northern Indiana could see up to 18 inches, the weather services office forecast. Snowfall has led to several car crashes throughout central Indiana on Thursday morning.
Pittsburgh is forecast to be 1 to 2 inches, while other areas of northwestern Pennsylvania could see up to 8 inches, according to the weather services office there.
In northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, the forecast could reach 18 inches, according to the weather services offices.
“It won’t be a big snowfall with a high snowfall rate,” meteorologist David Thomas about the storm in western New York. “This is a light, long-lasting snowfall that will be easier to control, although the roads will be covered with snow.”
Contributors: Krista Johnson and Ayana Archie, Louisville Courier Journal; Rachel Wegner, Tennessee (Nashville); Victoria E. Freile, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle; Sarah Nelson, Indianapolis Star; Related press
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