Big chill looks to linger in state

Forecasters say pattern set, so more snow, ice expected


Traffic backs up as drivers proceed cautiously down Interstate 30 near Geyer Springs as ice and slush begin to melt on Tuesday.
Traffic backs up as drivers proceed cautiously down Interstate 30 near Geyer Springs as ice and slush begin to melt on Tuesday.

Forecasters expect the same weather pattern that dumped up to 5 inches of sleet and snow across the state to stick around for at least another week and deliver more precipitation.

The arctic front that mixed with warm air from the Gulf of Mexico caused temperatures to plummet 40 to 50 degrees in less than 24 hours Sunday and into Monday. That same system combined with an amplified jet stream from the west means that "upper level disturbances have the potential to kick off snow and precipitation," National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Chiuppi said Tuesday.

Temperatures will not get above freezing for most of the state until Saturday, Chiuppi said.

"In this pattern we are in right now, there will be a couple of more opportunities for snow and ice this week," he said.

The wind chill will be in the single digits for most of the week, with another front moving in Saturday night. Wind chill is the calculation that describes the combined effect of wind and low temperatures on exposed skin.

"It looks like a chance for snow to freezing rain or sleet. It's hard to pinpoint this many days out," Chiuppi said. "We're in a pattern right now that is conducive to wintry weather, and we will continue to see opportunities for it."

The majority of the state's schools, as well as many government offices and businesses remained closed through Tuesday. Power companies made progress on restoring electricity to the thousands of homes and businesses that were left in the dark when the storm snapped electrical lines.

As of late Tuesday, Entergy Arkansas had restored power to all but about 5,000 customers, down from a peak of more than 30,000 on Monday. Southwestern Electric Power Co., which provides electricity to the western border of the state, had restored power to all its customers as of Tuesday.

Roadways around the state remained treacherous, with the icy conditions blamed for at least one death.

A Crossett woman died Monday afternoon after she lost control of her vehicle on an icy highway in Chicot County and crashed, Arkansas State Police said.

Gertrude Brock, 65, was driving east on U.S. 82 in a 2001 Toyota when she lost control of the vehicle and it struck a ditch and overturned, state police said. The wreck occurred at 5:02 p.m. Monday.

Brock was pronounced dead at the scene, state police reported. Road conditions were icy and freezing rain was falling at the time of the crash, state police said.

As road conditions improved Tuesday, the Arkansas National Guard completed a two-day mission of assisting state police and responding to weather-related emergencies.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who serves as commander in chief of Arkansas military forces, activated Guard personnel about noon Sunday.

Before the storm hit, about 20 teams of soldiers and airmen with Humvees mobilized to state police troop headquarters in Clarksville, Fort Smith, Forrest City, Harrison, Hope, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Newport, Pine Bluff, Springdale and Warren.

During the busiest time of the mission Monday, 78 soldiers and airmen helped state police respond to 18 emergencies. Most of the work involved driving troopers to hard-to-reach areas and helping with car wrecks and stranded motorists, said Arkansas Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Keith Moore.

Guardsmen responded with state police when an 18-wheeler overturned on a "really rough stretch of highway," and they made a delivery to Saline County Medical Center in Benton when the hospital needed a supply of blood Monday night, Moore said.

"Once they call on us, we go full force. We get it done," Moore said.

At 6 p.m. Monday, the number of guardsmen on active duty dropped to 45. On Tuesday afternoon, only two Humvees and four guardsmen remained on duty, standing by at state police headquarters in Little Rock.

Roadways were still dicey Tuesday morning, but the sun began melting the ice throughout the day.

State highway crews continued through Tuesday on a 24-hour schedule, working 12 hours on then 12 hours off, said David Nilles, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.

"Our crews made good progress. Our main area of concentration is in the central Arkansas area and I-40 east of Little Rock in Lonoke and Prairie counties. Those areas got a pretty good dose of sleet yesterday," Nilles said Tuesday.

"Since last winter, we've done some retooling, got some new equipment and acquired greater amounts of rock salt," Nilles said. "Nobody is excited to see the winter weather, but we were eager to get our 11 months of preparation into action. Everybody felt pretty good going into it and during it."

Stewart Fuell, a librarian with the Central Arkansas Library System, said roads from his home in Sheridan to Little Rock were mostly clear Tuesday, with only intermittent spots of icy slush.

"I haven't gotten to Little Rock on Interstate 530 that quickly in months," Fuell said.

In Little Rock, some city streets -- which were pre-treated Sunday with a mixture of 30 percent salt and 70 percent sand -- remained slick Tuesday morning.

"Pretreating streets does not prevent ice and snow from collecting on the pavement surface," Little Rock spokesman Luis Gonzalez said. "It can assist with melting and make the surface more plowable. With this particular storm event, the very cold temperatures and cloud cover prevented melting from occurring yesterday."

About 135 Little Rock Public Works employees have been working around the clock since Sunday in 12-hour shifts to treat and clear the streets, Gonzalez added.

Across the Arkansas River, main streets and roadways in North Little Rock were largely clear of ice Tuesday morning, and city road crews moved on to less-traveled neighborhood streets.

"We've got a fantastic street director in Patrick Lane, who knows these streets and weather better than anybody. He knows where to spend our limited resources," North Little Rock spokesman Nathan Hamilton said.

"We didn't pre-treat the streets because it just washes away. It was better to just bring our people in early to start the clearing and focus on the bigger streets first."

Northwest Arkansas continued to dig out Tuesday from the storm, which dropped as much as 5 inches of ice and snow in some areas Sunday night and early Monday.

There was no additional accumulation during the day Tuesday, but light snow -- "an inch at most" -- was forecast Tuesday night and early today for Northwest Arkansas, said Joe Sellers, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tulsa.

The Highway Department shifted its focus Tuesday from the main roads in that area, including Interstate 49, to secondary highways.

Steve Lawrence, district engineer for the department's Harrison-based District 9, said priority is given to clearing highways based on traffic counts.

Benton County was hit particularly hard, he said, and crews were busy Tuesday clearing highways there. Highway crews worked Tuesday to clear U.S. 71 Business in Rogers and Bentonville, Arkansas 102 and 279 near Centerton and Arkansas 264 near Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Highfill.

Airport director Kelly Johnson said conditions were pretty much back to normal there Tuesday, after several flight cancellations and delays Monday because of ice and snow in other cities around the country. On Tuesday, the airport had only two flight cancellations, because of weather in New York City and Newark, N.J.

Flights out of Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field in Little Rock largely returned to normal, as well, despite a few cancellations tied to weather in Baltimore and Charlotte, N.C.

In Eureka Springs, Public Works Director Dwayne Allen said his crews cleared the main streets first, but secondary streets in the hilly town were still slick Tuesday afternoon.

"A lot of it's clear, but side streets ... there's that sleet underneath," Allen said. "It's pretty treacherous with that down. We got a little warmth with some sun today, so we got some help from the weather."

Lawrence and Allen said main roads were pre-treated with a mixture of beet juice and salt brine Sunday to keep ice from bonding with the road surface.

Getting the beet juice down before the storm came in was key, Allen said.

"It was peeling right up," he said of the ice. "So we were fortunate there."

When ice bonds to the pavement, "you've almost got to chip it off there to get it out. I've had guys out with picks and sledgehammers just knocking it loose," Allen added.

The ice-covered hills and streets led to more emergency-room visits and orthopedic injuries, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Nursing Director Julie Atkins said.

Medical personnel and staff members for the academic medical center in Little Rock began showing up Sunday night to ensure adequate coverage during the storm. The hospital set up an area with air mattresses, linens and meal tickets.

"They spent the night and even walked to work. They are so dedicated and don't gripe. This is how seriously we take it. Our people go to extreme lengths to be here," Atkins said.

"I've been doing this here for 25 years, and I can't tell you how many nights I've spent here. We used to have these old Army cots that would fall apart when you laid on them. Now we have these nice, thick air mattresses. They're awesome and much easier to store."

As soon as an inclement-weather advisory is issued, Atkins said, the hospital begins preparing for injuries and accidents that always come with the storm, especially when ice and snow are covering the ground.

"We are seeing a significant number of falls in the emergency room. We've had three or four already this morning, " Atkins said. "Don't get out there if you don't have to. Beware of everything. It's just slick.

"You can be as careful as you can be, but walking is just as dangerous as driving. I don't think there's anybody who is safe. Always have something to brace yourself and to hold on to. Be really careful. It doesn't take much to break a bone."

Information for this article was contributed by Nikki Wentling, Bill Bowden and Shea Stewart of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

A Section on 02/18/2015

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