Little Rock and Arkansas State Police were working multiple crashes in central Arkansas Wednesday night after winter weather left patches of ice along major roads and bridges, police spokesmen said.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation said in a statement that black ice had formed in several patches along Interstate 630 and Arkansas 10 near Arkansas 300. With temperatures below freezing, transportation officials said all water on roads in central Arkansas will likely turn to ice and advised caution to drivers.
The Little Rock Police Department said on social media late Wednesday that officers were working multiple accidents on Cantrell Road and Chenal Parkway and that there were many large patches of ice on the roads.
Dylan Cooper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the night would only get colder, with temperatures across the state below freezing. The rain that pushed through central Arkansas Tuesday, he said, will likely leave wet spots on many roadways that will quickly turn to ice.
“That leftover water, that’s what’s freezing,” Cooper said. “When we see these arctic air masses, like what we’re seeing, it gets cold very quickly and effectively flash freezes water on the road.”
As always, bridges and overpasses are highly susceptible to ice, he said, but the temperature could leave black ice anywhere.
The Department of Transportation’s iDrive Arkansas traffic tracker registered at least two major roadways where traffic was at a standstill as of 10 p.m.
An accident near exit 6B of I-630 had closed down all eastbound lanes and an accident on the northbound side of I-530 in Jefferson County closed the outer lanes, according to the traffic map.
Traffic was marked as slow or very slow in multiple areas of Little Rock as of 10 p.m. Wednesday, the tracker said.
Cooper said temperatures could rise to the high 30s or low 40s Thursday, but that Friday would bring temperatures back down into the 20s, and another arctic front would move in by Monday.