DALLAS – Texas and Oklahoma braced for heavy snow and ice that could make roadways treacherous Friday in what is expected to be some of the initial effects of a huge, dayslong winter storm threatening catastrophic damage, extensive power outages and bitterly cold weather to more than 170 million people across the nation, the National Weather Service says — about half the population.
A combination of heavy snow, freezing rain and sleet is in store from the Southern Rockies to New England through Monday, the agency said.
And even when that’s over, a round of extremely cold air will hit areas of the Southern Plains to the Northeast next week, the weather service said.
More than 800 flights within, into, or out of the United States were delayed or canceled for Friday in advance of the storm, including at airports in Dallas, Atlanta, and Oklahoma, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.
Oklahoma’s Department of Transportation pretreated roads with salt brine. The state Highway Patrol canceled days off for troopers so more will be out assist and said it was partnering with the National Guard to send teams out to help stranded drivers.
“Travel is going to become more and more treacherous starting late Friday afternoon and lasting through the rest of the weekend,” the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma, posted online.
Oklahoma City Public Schools officials canceled all classes and activities Friday due to predicted deteriorating road conditions. Frigid temperatures closed Houston schools Friday with an e-learning day for public school students. In Dallas, schools were expected to open, but officials said after-school activities were canceled Friday and throughout the weekend.
In the Houston area, a utility company had 3,300 employees ready to work the winter storm.
“It’s all hands on deck,” Houston Mayor John Whitmire posted online. “We’re hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst.”
Snow, freezing rain, sleet and low temps for many
The massive storm system is expected to bring a crippling ice storm from Texas through parts of the South, potentially more than a foot (30 centimeters) of snow from Oklahoma through Washington, D.C., New York and Boston, and then a final punch of bitterly cold air that could drop wind chills to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 46 Celsius) in parts of Minnesota and North Dakota.
Forecasters are warning the damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival a hurricane. Many people were under winter storm or cold weather watches or warnings — and in many places both.
Cold air streaming down from Canada caused Chicago Public Schools and Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa to cancel classes Friday, as well. Wind chills predicted to be as low as minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 37 Celsius) could cause frostbite within 10 minutes, making it too dangerous to walk to school or wait for the bus.
The cold punch coming after means it will take a while to thaw out, an especially dangerous prospect in places where ice and snow weighs down tree branches and power lines and cuts electricity, perhaps for days. Roads and sidewalks could remain icy well into next week.
Ice can add hundreds of pounds to power lines and branches and make them more susceptible to snapping, especially in windy weather.
Freezing temperatures are expected all the way to Florida, forecasters said.
A severe cold snap five years ago took down much of the power grid in Texas, leaving millions without power for days and resulting in hundreds of deaths. Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday that won’t happen again, saying the power system “has never been stronger.”
Winter storms can be notoriously tricky to forecast, with forecasters saying the places with the worst weather can’t be pinned down until the event starts.
States of emergency declared in Georgia and Mississippi
Governors in Georgia and Mississippi have declared states of emergency.
In Huntsville, Alabama, employees from Jomo’s Power Equipment, Parts & Service Inc. sold dozens of generators within about a day and ordered an emergency shipment to meet customer demand.
“I’d say 95% of the calls were generator-related or either service or ‘Do you have any generators in stock,’” Bryan Hill, the store’s manager, said Thursday.
Lindsay Sylvester in Toney, Alabama, stocked up early in the week on bread and other supplies at her home and sent her son, who is in college, bread, gloves, candles and hand warmers.
Sylvester said she went to the store early in the week because she knew supplies would be depleted close to the weekend.
“A couple of people I heard talking about they had gone to Walmart and there was no milk, no bread,” she said. “All the necessities were gone.”
As a precaution, North Carolina’s largest public school system prepared for potentially several days out of physical classrooms next week, telling its teachers to create three days of assignments accessible online or through paper copies.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger told residents to prepare for days without power or the ability to leave their neighborhoods. And in a nod to the politics of the time, the newly inaugurated Democrat said people should not be scared to call 911 in an emergency just because of the immigration crackdowns going on in places like Minnesota.
Arkansas Department of Transportation spokesperson Dave Parker pleaded for people to be patient and stay home if possible once the storm hits.
At a busy grocery store near downtown Dallas, Kennedi Mallard and Frank Green loaded two shopping carts full of supplies into their car. They said there were some bare shelves inside.
“No water, no eggs, no butter, no ground meat,” Green said.
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Megnien reported from Atlanta and Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press writers around the country contributed to this report.