Chicago – The massive winter storm that is sweeping across the central and Northeast United States on Thursday, is dumping heavy snow and ice, making travel dangerous if not impossible.
About 350,000 homes and businesses lost power across the U.S. Freezing rain and snow weighed down tree limbs and encrusted power lines. Part of the storm caused a deadly tornado in Alabama, dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of the Midwest and brought rare measurable snowfall and hundreds of power outages to parts of Texas.
Storm conditions also caused headaches for travelers across the country as airlines canceled more than 9,000 flights scheduled for Thursday or Friday in the U.S.
The highest totals of power outages blamed on icy or downed power lines were concentrated in Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas and Ohio, but the path of the storm stretched further from the central U.S. into the South and Northeast on Thursday.
The storm wreaked havoc on air travel as more than 4,000 U.S. flights were canceled by midday, Flightaware.com reported. Some 2,000 flights were canceled in and out of Dallas airports alone.
Heavy snow was expected from the southern Rockies to northern New England, while forecasters said heavy ice buildup was likely from Pennsylvania to New England through Friday.
Parts of Ohio, New York and northern New England were expected to see heavy snowfall as the storm moves to the east with 12 to 18 inches (30 to 45 centimeters) of snow possible in some places through Friday, Andrew Orrison, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland, said early Thursday.
Ice accumulations
Ice accumulations is the primary hazard from central and eastern Pennsylvania through the Catskill Mountains of New York to New England, NWS meteorologist Rich Otto said Thursday evening.
More than a half inch of ice may accumulate by Friday morning in some spots, possibly causing power outages, tree damage and dangerous travel conditions, the weather service warned.
"Everything will freeze overnight and heighten the potential for black ice tomorrow," The Arkansas Department of Transportation warned in a tweet.
"Texas is experiencing one of the most significant ice events in decades," said Texas governor Greg Abbott.
School districts in several states including Texas, Michigan and Ohio canceled classes on Thursday. Dallas closed schools attended by 145,000 students for Thursday and Friday.
The storm will push temperatures down. Highs in many places across the Plains and Mississippi Valley will be between 20-40 degrees below average over the next few days, the NWS said.
Along the warmer side of the storm, strong thunderstorms capable of damaging wind gusts and tornadoes were possible Thursday in parts of Mississippi and Alabama, the Storm Prediction Center said.
Tornadoes in the winter are unusual but possible, and scientists have said the atmospheric conditions needed to cause a tornado have intensified as the planet warms.
In Dallas, where snow rarely accumulates, the overnight mix of snow and freezing rain had hardened Thursday afternoon into an icy slick that made roads perilous.
The disruptive storm began Tuesday and moved across the central U.S. on Wednesday’s Groundhog Day, the same day the famed groundhog Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter. The storm came on the heels of a nor’easter last weekend that brought blizzard conditions to many parts of the East Coast.
-Reuters/AP