Winter Storm Batters U.S. South, Canceling Schools and Flights

A powerful winter storm brought heavy snow and icy conditions to parts of the U.S. South, forcing officials to close schools, cancel flights, and warn residents in some of the worst-hit areas to stay off roads as it moved eastward through Oklahoma and Texas.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders mobilized the National Guard to assist stranded motorists, while school was canceled for Thursday and Friday for millions of children across a wide swath of southern states from Texas to Georgia. The National Weather Service reported that the storm dumped as much as 6 to 7 inches of snow in parts of central Oklahoma and northern Texas before pushing into western Arkansas.

Heavy snow fell in Little Rock, Arkansas, and further south and east into Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, where a wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain glazed roads and made travel treacherous. Charles Daniel, a truck driver hauling supplies through slick and slushy roads in central Oklahoma, remarked, 'People do not need to be driving.'

Schools canceled classes for more than 1 million students in Texas and Oklahoma, with additional closures keeping students home in Kansas City and Arkansas. Hundreds of flights were canceled in Dallas, while nationwide tracking platforms reported more than 3,800 delays and 1,800 cancellations.

National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Kirkwood stated that the storm sweeping through the Dallas area would create a swath of snow impacting parts of Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Texas Governor Greg Abbott urged residents to avoid driving if possible, while Georgia Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency as the northern half of the state prepared for snow and ice.

In Tennessee, Memphis-Shelby County Schools announced that all schools and administrative buildings would close due to expected heavy snowfall, with officials opening two 24-hour warming centers. Meanwhile, parts of South Carolina prepared for their first wintry weather in three years, and Virginia's capital, Richmond, remained under a boil-water advisory following a power outage caused by an earlier winter storm.