As another round of winter storms and freezing temperatures threatened to clog up travel, schools and buildings in the Southern U.S. were closed or prepared to be closed on Thursday.
Texas schools canceled classes for over 1 million students due to the possibility of dangerous and icy conditions lasting into Friday. Kansas City, Little Rock, and Arkansas’ capitals were also closed, while Richmond, the capital of Virginia, was under a boil advisory due to weather.
Residents were forced to flee their burning homes by roaring winds, towering smoke clouds, and flaming flames during the cold snap.
Crews in the Dallas area treated the roads to prepare for the arrival of 2 to four inches (5 to 10 centimeters). According to the National Weather Service, up to 5 inches (12.7 cm) of snow was predicted farther north, near Oklahoma.
Gov. Greg Abbott stated that the state had deployed emergency crews ahead of time and advised residents to avoid driving during bad weather.
Gina Eaton from Boston, who had stocked up in Dallas on groceries ahead of the storm said that she is apprehensive about sharing roads with motorists unfamiliar with ice and snow.
“Even if there is ice, I’m very comfortable driving in it,” Eaton said. “It’s just other people that scare me.”
The roads could be slippery Friday, as 75,000 people are expected to head to AT&T Stadium Arlington for the Cotton Bowl semifinal college football championship between Texas and Ohio State. Arlington spokesperson Susan Shrock stated that crews would be prepared to deal with any dangerous road conditions.
From New Mexico to Alabama, a mix of sleet and snow was predicted. Forecasters predicted that the most significant amounts of snow and sleet would be in Arkansas, Louisiana Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, and Oklahoma.
By Friday, the system is expected to move northeastward with heavy snow and freezing drizzle up to the Virginia and North Carolina coastlines. The weather service warned that up to 8 inches (20 centimeters), or 20 cm, of snow, may fall through Saturday in Georgia, North Carolina, and West Virginia.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced on Friday the closing of certain state offices. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced that city offices would be closed and employees would work remotely.
Tennessee Emergency Management Agency director Patrick Sheehan has said that he expects schools to be closed across the state on Friday. However, decisions will be taken at the local level.
The polar vortex is a powerful, ultra-cold wind that usually revolves around the North Pole. However, it can sometimes travel southward into the U.S.A., Europe, and Asia. According to some experts, such events occur more often, paradoxically, due to a warmer world.
Chip Redmond, Kansas State University’s meteorologist, said that some parts of Kansas received an average amount of snow equivalent to a full year in the last few days. This has affected farmers and ranchers, “in a way we haven’t experienced for a long, long time.
When temperatures drop below zero, calves are particularly at risk. Snow can prevent farmers from getting to herds in rural areas with food and water.
Growers in northern Florida were concerned with ferns used for floral arrangements. Valentine’s Day is only one month away.
Richmond will remain under the boil-water advisory until at least Friday as officials work to restore the water reservoir system, which malfunctioned after a storm caused a power outage, Mayor Danny Avula said.
Officials said that the city of over 200,000 distributed bottled water in 11 locations and delivered it to residents who were unable to reach those sites, such as older people and others.
“We have families in the city that don’t even have water,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday. “We have young children whose mothers ask, ‘What should I do with baby formula?
Winter storms have caused thousands of flights to be delayed or canceled across the U.S. this week. This week, hundreds of car accidents were reported in Virginia where three people died, Indiana, Kansas, and Kentucky.
Since last weekend, there have been other weather-related deaths in West Virginia, Kansas, and North Carolina.
