Snow blanketed central and south Arkansas on Wednesday, closing schools, slushing up highways and giving youngsters a chance to play in dense snowfall.
At times, the snow in south Arkansas fell at a rate of about 2 inches per hour.
"We're getting hammered," said Star City Street Department Superintendent Thomas Linzy. "I can barely see outside across the street. It's thick."
Arkansas State Police reported one weather-related fatality Wednesday. Shara Ann Lawrence, 64, of Nashville was killed when her Ford SUV slid across the centerline on U.S. 371 in Howard County and was hit by a pickup at 10:51 a.m.
National Weather Service meteorologists had said some areas along the Arkansas-Louisiana border were expected to receive 6 inches or more of wet snow.
By 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Prescott reported 5.25 inches, Sheridan and White Hall each had 5 inches and Malvern measured 4 inches of snow. More snow was falling in those areas late Wednesday afternoon, meteorologists said.
The snow, the last of several waves of frozen precipitation that hit the state over the past 10 days, began falling in Texarkana about 4 a.m. Forecasters expected the fast-moving system to leave the state by nightfall, with cold, dry air following today.
Temperatures were above freezing for most of Arkansas and snow, for the most part, didn't stick on roads.
Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department crews pretreated roadways in south Arkansas early Wednesday in preparation for the storm.
"We're still spreading salt and plowing as quickly as we can," said Deric Wyatt, district maintenance engineer for the Highway Department's district in Camden. "It's snowing steadily."
He said crews spread almost 200 tons of salt Monday, when freezing rain hit the southwest corner of the state, and he expected to use another 180 tons through Wednesday evening and this morning.
He said he saw a few cars in ditches, but that for the most part traffic moved well, albeit slowly.
"It's not all that rare to see a snow like this now," Wyatt said. "Seems like in February, cold air blasts hit warm Gulf moisture right over our heads here."
Dozens of schools and universities either didn't hold classes Wednesday or closed early. State government also closed its offices Wednesday afternoon.
In Little Rock, public-works crews treated bridges, overpasses and known "problem spots" Tuesday evening, said Luis Gonzalez, a spokesman for the city. Crews returned at 9 a.m. Wednesday to clear the city's primary snow routes and worked through the day, he said.
Flights at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field were not disrupted because of the weather, airport spokesman Shane Carter said. He said airfield crews were monitoring surfaces to ensure they were clear.
Meanwhile, Gov. Asa Hutchinson activated the Arkansas National Guard to assist the Arkansas State Police in responding to weather-related emergencies.
Three teams -- each made up of four soldiers and two Humvees -- assisted state police troop headquarters in Hot Springs, Hope and Pine Bluff. As of Wednesday afternoon, the teams were on standby to transport troopers to hard-to-reach places and help any stranded motorists, according to a news release from Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Joel Lynch.
It was the second time in 10 days that the Guard has been called into state active duty. Hutchinson activated personnel Feb. 15 in preparation for a storm that dropped up to 5 inches of sleet and snow.
Wednesday's system formed in east Texas and battered the South through to North Carolina. Eleven states issued winter-weather warnings or advisories.
Memphis received an inch of snow, while Jonesboro -- about 75 miles to the northeast -- got no snowfall. Chattanooga, Tenn., reported 7 inches of snow, and Raleigh, N.C., was expecting 9 inches.
"This system has a sharp dividing line," National Weather Service meteorologist John Lewis of North Little Rock said. "Southern Pulaski County will get 3 to 4 inches of snow, but drive 20 miles to the north and there's no accumulations."
Because ground temperatures were mostly above freezing in most of Arkansas, the snow had a difficult time sticking to surfaces. However, because the air was so cold, snow formed and didn't have a chance to melt before falling to the ground, Lewis said.
"The depth of any warm air wasn't enough for it to melt," he said. "The moisture formed as snow and stayed as snow all the way to the ground."
Had the temperatures varied with warmer air and cold ground, south Arkansas could have gotten a damaging ice storm, he said. But it didn't turn out that way.
In Camden, where more than 3 inches fell by noon, Joyce Blankenship and her two sons, Josh, 8, and Stephen, 12, battled in their front yard near downtown to see who could build the biggest snowman.
Blankenship said she planned to make ice cream out of the snow later in the day.
"This is a neat experience for the kids, and we are making the most of it," she said. "I was off work today, and they were out of school, so we are just creating family memories."
Others in the Ouachita County city weren't as jovial about the weather.
Kevin Stringfellow's Buick slid into a small ditch near his home and, later, so did Stringfellow.
"I hurt my elbow and took a pretty good stumble down the hill," he said. "I can't wait for summer."
Thick snow fell Wednesday morning at the Quik Sak grocery on Arkansas 270 in Mount Ida, but it didn't deter customers, said employee Michelle Conner.
"It's snowing pretty good," she said. "But it's not bad. You can still see the ground through the snow. Maybe it won't be too bad."
She said customers had already bought essentials -- "cigarettes and gasoline" -- earlier this week, when sleet and ice hit.
"They were already prepared for this," she said.
Traffic moved steadily along Interstate 30 by Love's Travel Stop No. 277 in Prescott, employee Angela Poindexter said.
"It's snowing, but the interstate is clear," she said. "I watched plows clearing off the highways.
"The snow has picked up. I like it; we're not used to a lot of snow down here."
Near Fordyce, Amanda Jones' granddaughter, Jasmin, 4, was visiting from Florida and had never seen snow. The pair were building a snowman along U.S. 79.
Jones gathered some snow, placed it in a bottle and stuck it in her freezer with a note sealed in a plastic bag.
"It's a keepsake," Jones said. "And, to think, seeing your first snow in Arkansas of all places."
Information for this article was contributed by Nikki Wentling of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
A Section on 02/26/2015