LITTLE ROCK — Freezing rain knocked out power to thousands in Arkansas on Tuesday and glazed bridges and overpasses before turning to snow in the evening.
At least 85,000 homes and businesses were without electricity Christmas night, with the greater part of power disruptions in Garland, Pulaski and Hot Spring counties, authorities said.
The winter storm system developed in the southern Plains, spreading ice and snow into Oklahoma and spawning tornadoes in Texas before entering Arkansas on Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service in Memphis issued a blizzard warning for 14 counties in northeast Arkansas for Tuesday evening in anticipation of heavy snow, winds of 35 mph or stronger, and reduced visibility. It was the first time the weather service had issued such a warning in at least 40 years, said meteorologist Andy Chiuppi.
Forecasters said most of the state would see snow before the system moved out today.
Northeast Arkansas could receive up to 10 inches of snow by early this morning, said National Weather Service meteorologist Julie Lesko.
Entergy Arkansas Inc. spokesman Julie Munsell said from 800 to 1,000 workers were called in to help repair lines downed by ice.
The utility company reported more than 74,000 without power by 6 p.m. Tuesday.
First Electric Cooperative, which serves 88,000 customers in central and southeast Arkansas, reported 10,000 without electricity, said Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas spokesman Rob Roedel.
Rain started Tuesday just before 11 a.m. in Little Rock and quickly turned into an icy mix. By mid-afternoon, trees along Cantrell Road and other roadways were bowing under the weight of ice.
“It’s nasty here,” Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department spokesman Randy Ort said of the highways in central Arkansas. “There are icy patches on bridges already. As crazy as it sounds, we need it to start snowing. It’s easier to blade off snow than get rid of ice.”
Ort said road crews were called out before noon Tuesday to spread salt and sand on overpasses.
“We began around-the-clock operations,” he said.
He added that because temperatures were hovering around the freezing mark at mid-afternoon, he was concerned that heavy rains would wash some of the mixture off the highways.
By late Tuesday afternoon, major highways in western Arkansas were covered with snow, ice and slush.
Meanwhile, the Little Rock Public Works Department worked to keep roads clear, with four trucks covering overpasses and bridges with a mix of sand and salt throughout the early afternoon. Public Works Operations Coordinator Mark Jacobi said staff members were watching the temperatures and preparing for the worst.
“At 4 p.m., the full night shift will come in with eight of our large trucks and two of our small trucks. All of them have salt spreaders, but the large trucks also have snowplows,” he said.
Because the elevation varies so greatly across Little Rock,the public works staff has to be prepared for different conditions in different neighborhoods. He said the department will run around the clock in 12-hour shifts until the weather clears.
Also, he said, several workers with the city’s fleet services department were on call to make sure the trucks continue to run and can be swapped out for maintenance if needed.
Crews were also on standby at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field in Little Rock, airport spokesman Shane Carter said.
“Our equipment is ready to go,” he said.
A handful of flights from Dallas, Atlanta and Chicago to Little Rock were canceled Tuesday afternoon because of weather, he said.
KUAR-FM 89.1 and KLREFM 90.5, which operate from the campus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, were both off the air Tuesday afternoon when power was lost to the stations’ transmitters. News Director Michael Hibblen said he was working with Entergy to solve the problem but didn’t know when the transmitters would be back up and running.
While power company crews were on standby in Little Rock, counties and citiessouth and west had started to see slush, ice and power failures after broken trees took down power lines Tuesday afternoon.
About 2 p.m., Lt. Mike Robertson with the Garland County sheriff’s office said the department was working quickly to swap out its patrol cars for ones with studded tires.
“It deteriorated pretty quickly, and it is getting worse,” he said. “Highway 7 into Hot Springs Village was the first of our highways to deteriorate, but Highway 70 east and then west now are both slushy and slippery.”
“We’re working to get the word out through the local radio stations that people should get off the road if they can and delay their travel plans.”
The roads in Saline County were covered in a thick layer of slush by about 3 p.m., said Saline County sheriff’s office spokesman Scotty Courtney.
“All the trees are covered in ice, and the slush is beginning to accumulate,” he said. “We’ll be happier when it turns to snow, because this is the kind of mix where, when it gets colder overnight, it can turn into sheets of ice pretty quickly.”
Northeast Arkansans girded for the inclement weather and the chance of blizzard conditions. Although most grocery stores in Jonesboro were closed for Christmas, the Walgreens store on East Highland Drive saw customers grab batteries, candles, lighters, de-icers, toilet paper and soft drinks, said employee Pagean Curry.
“We sold out of bread and milk by 8:30 this morning,” she said.
Rain and sleet began falling about 3 p.m. and by 4 p.m., the wind began to howl.
Farther south, freezing rain fell in Newport, said Jackson County sheriff’s office dispatcher Melissa Lore.
“It’s coming down pretty good,” she said. “We’ve got our highway crew out now.”
Meteorologist Lesko said the storm system should leave the northeast corner of the state by noon today. Forecasters said some areas in that region could receive an additional inch of snow this morning before skies clear.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 12/26/2012