An area stretching from Texas to Tennessee was bracing Wednesday for possible freezing rain and snow, while other parts of the United States, hit this week by the polar vortex, were beginning to recover from its freezing effects.
Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas, ordered schools closed Thursday and Friday in preparation for the storm, which could produce a large amount of snow in the region starting Thursday.
Although conditions improved in some places affected by the arctic cold that escaped its usual regions last weekend, classes in the Kansas City area were canceled Wednesday for the third day in a row, and in Richmond, Virginia’s capital, Residents were advised to boil their water before drinking it until at least Friday.
The cold snap coincided with wildfires, rare in January, that raged through the Los Angeles area on Wednesday, forcing residents to flee burning homes through fire, fierce winds and huge clouds of smoke.
Trouble in the south
A mix of sleet, snow and freezing rain is expected to fall across a swath of the United States from New Mexico to Alabama starting Wednesday night and early Thursday, with the largest amounts likely to fall in parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas, according to the National Weather Service.
In places further south, the snow could turn to sleet and freezing rain, which forecasters warn could cause hazardous driving conditions.
That system is expected to move northeast on Friday, with a mix of heavy snow and freezing rain forecast from southeastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas to the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina.
The polar vortex of extremely cold air usually revolves around the North Pole, but sometimes ventures south into the United States, Europe and Asia. Some experts say these cold air outbreaks are happening more frequently, paradoxically, because of a warming world.
North Texas prepares for snow
In the Dallas area, crews prepared roads ahead of the arrival of about 2 to 4 inches of snow on Thursday, along with sleet and rain. Up to 5 inches is expected further north, near the Oklahoma state line, the weather service said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that the state deployed several emergency agencies and opened hundreds of temporary shelters in preparation for the storm.
Abbott also expressed confidence in the state’s power grid, which failed during an unusually cold storm in 2021, leaving more than three million residents without power and killing more than 200 people. He said if a power outage occurs this week, it will likely be due to a downed power grid cable.
“If there is a loss of power, it will not be due to the electrical grid,” the governor said.
In northern Florida, farmers were primarily concerned with ferns grown for flower arrangements, with Valentine’s Day just a month away.
Citrus trees are less likely to suffer significant damage, which typically occurs when temperatures drop to minus 2 degrees Celsius or lower for several hours.
Most of Florida’s commercial citrus orchards are far enough south to have been unaffected by this week’s recent cold snap.
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