Storms ravage nation with snow, ice
Heavy snow and ice blasted the Pacific Northwest into Saturday morning, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, as portions of the Plains, the South and the Mid-Atlantic prepared for more snow and freezing rain into early next week.
Forecasters said Friday that the U.S. is enduring one of its busiest winter weather patterns “in decades.” A bitterly cold arctic air mass draped across much of the country is fueling winter storms nationwide.
“A very active weekend is ahead for winter weather as large parts of the U.S. experience concerns for extreme cold temperatures, heavy snow and ice,” the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center said Saturday on Twitter. “Coast to coast from the Pacific Northwest to the Mid-Atlantic, there is an array of winter weather headlines in effect. Stay safe!”
Across seven states – including Oregon, Washington, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia – more than 700,000 people were without power Saturday afternoon, according to Poweroutage.us.
Ice storm warnings were in effect for portions Oregon, Maryland and Virginia, where ice accumulations could reach a quarter to a half-inch, the weather service said.
“Power outages and tree damage are expected due to the ice. Travel could be nearly impossible. The combination of the icing forecast and the snow and ice already on trees will make for a very dangerous situation,” the NWS said.
In Nashville, Tennessee, icy roads caused a traffic pileup involving 18 vehicles and causing six minor injuries on Interstate 24 on Saturday morning, according to the Nashville Metro Police
Department.
The Nashville Fire Department, which dispatched at least 15 emergency vehicles to the pileup, said multiple motorists were transported to local hospitals.
“Please continue to avoid the area if possible,” the fire department said in a tweet. “If you are traveling in this area, please use caution as Emergency Responders are working to clear the scene.”
A major winter storm is expected to develop over the Southern Plains on Sunday into Monday, with a large area of snow, sleet, and freezing rain expected, the weather service said.
Texas and portions of the South could see record-shattering cold over the next few days. At Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas, the Monday afternoon forecast of a high of 24 degrees would be the lowest high since Dec. 22, 1990.
“For sections of the western Gulf coast, impactful winter weather is about a once-a-decade event,” the prediction center said on Twitter late Friday.
Saturday morning, parts of Texas saw “thundersleet,” the National Weather Service said. It added a warning that heavy freezing rain and sleet were expected to accumulate.
According to Weather.com, the coming storm will bring considerably worse weather conditions than what was seen early Thursday morning in Texas, when at least six people were killed and 65 others hospitalized in a chain-reaction crash that involved more than 100 vehicles on an icy interstate.
This weekend, the Texas Department of Transportation warned residents to stay off the roads.
“Please please please stay home if possible. If you must drive, reduce your speed and increase your following distance,” the department said on Twitter.