DALLAS (AP) — An area stretching from Texas to Tennessee braced Wednesday for the possible arrival of freezing rain and snow even as some other parts of the U.S. hit by the plunging polar vortex this week began to shake off its icy effects.
Arkansas’ capital, Little Rock, closed schools on Thursday and Friday in preparation for the storm, which could dump heavy snow on the region starting Thursday. Although conditions improved in some places affected by the frigid Arctic air that escaped its usual climes last weekend, Kansas City-area classes were canceled Wednesday for a third-straight day and Virginia’s capital, Richmond, was still under a weather-related water-boil advisory through at least Friday.
The cold snap coincided with rare January wildfires that were tearing through the Los Angeles area on Wednesday, forcing residents to flee from burning homes through flames, ferocious winds and towering clouds of smoke.
Southern discomfort
A mix of sleet, snow and freezing rain is expected to fall on a stretch of the U.S. from New Mexico to Alabama starting Wednesday night and early Thursday, with the heaviest amounts likely in parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas, according to the National Weather Service. In the most southern locations, the snow could turn into sleet and freezing rain, which meteorologists warn could cause hazardous driving conditions.