Snowfall Ends, Accumulation Remains

As snowfall tapered off Friday, temperatures across Northwest Arkansas continued to drop.

Overnight lows this weekend are forecast to be in the teens before falling again to below zero Monday night, according to the National Weather Service in Tulsa, Okla.

Highs aren’t expected to reach the 30s until at least Wednesday.

Pete Snyder, meteorologist with the weather service, said there’s a chance of freezing drizzle Sunday.

“The next system that comes through has very little moisture,” he said.

Snyder said more than 6 inches of snow fell across Northwest Arkansas on Friday.

The snowfall stopped about 12:30 p.m. Friday, but Snyder said it will remain on the ground for the next few days.

“There won’t be a great deal of melting until we get some kind of sun,” he said. “With temperatures remaining cold, this situation is going to get bad for roads in outlying areas and hills. When the temperature drops at night, you get black ice in the morning and it can be a very dangerous situation.”

Snyder said he expects the wind to die down today with increasing clouds and a high of 24 degrees. Overnight temperatures will dip to about 20 degrees.

Jeff Coles, Fayetteville assistant transportation manager, said city crews plowed streets Friday and will continue today.

He said about 20 employees are working “around the clock” on two shifts.

“It never ends until the event ends,” he said. “We’ll be doing the same thing each shift, with the same equipment and the same materials.”

Terry Nalley, the administrator of public services for Benton County, encouraged people to stay off the roads. He said road crews are assisting if they come upon a motorist stranded in the snow. He said the county hasn’t had to close any streets. “They are bad, but not enough to close.”

Nalley said the roads were snow packed with ice underneath. He said his department had 15 plows running in 10-hour shifts Friday.

Mike Button, Bella Vista street superintendent, said his crew was having a tough time keeping up with the deluge early Friday. “It’s pretty slick out on the city streets,” he said. “We can’t keep up. It keeps coming, coming, coming.”

He said the city’s trucks were concentrating on the main roads to keep them clear.

In Benton and Washington counties, Arkansas State Police were called to one traffic accident involving property damage as of mid-afternoon Friday. That was a one-car accident on Interstate 540, just north of exit 81 in Rogers, said Capt. Lance King, commander of State Police Troop L.

“Troopers are on patrol looking for anyone who slid off the road or needs assistance,” King said. “We’ve helped a lot of people get out and called wreckers for them. Traffic has been pretty light, which is good for us.”

Since Thursday, area law enforcement officers say they’ve mainly responded to reports of stranded vehicles.

Kelly Cantrell, spokeswoman for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies had worked 15 calls for stranded motorists since Thursday. She said deputies also worked nine weather-related accidents. One person was injured, she said.

Springdale police worked half a dozen accidents between Thursday evening and Friday afternoon, said Derek Hudson, public information officer. One person was injured, he said. “A lot of our calls were for stalled vehicles and we don’t file accident reports if there’s no damage or injury,” he said.

Sgt. Craig Stout with the Fayetteville Police Department said officers worked 10 accidents without any injuries as of Friday evening. “We still have very slick road conditions and we’re encouraging people not to drive,” he said.

Keshia Guyll, the spokeswoman for the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, said there had been no serious accidents and no injuries because of the weather Friday.

“People are doing great by not getting out. The ones who are, are driving carefully,” said Keith Foster of the Rogers Police Department.

Frankie Guyll, Rogers street superintendent, was driving a road grader Friday afternoon. Main roads were the department’s priority to give emergency vehicles a chance to get out. “We’re about two-thirds done with that,” Guyll said Friday afternoon. “We’ll be hitting secondary roads first thing (today).”

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