March comes in like a polar bear
Posted on Saturday, March 8, 2008
A robust late-winter storm blew through the state Friday, dropping snow in nearly every county.
The blast cut power to nearly 50, 000 customers, closed more than 100 schools and universities, blocked rural roadways and sent motorists sliding into ditches.
No weather-related deaths were reported. No more snow is expected this weekend, and rising temperatures should melt what remains by Sunday.
As predicted, the snow was unique for this time of year in how widespread and heavy it fell.
At least a dusting touched nearly every part of the state except extreme Northwest Arkansas, said Joe Goudsward, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service office in Little Rock.
Snow fell in Eudora in Chicot County, near the Mississippi-Louisiana border, for the first time in years.
“Today was exceptional,” said Randy Ort, a spokesman for the state Highway and Transportation Department.
The heaviest snow fell in Ozark and Ouachita mountain towns.
Eighteen inches was recorded in Fox in Stone County; 14 inches in Mount George in Yell County; 14 inches in Dodd Mountain in Stone County; 13 inches in Vendor in Newton County; 12 inches in the Newton County towns of Deer and Jasper; and 12 inches in Dannard in Van Buren County.
Heavy, wet snow fell most of the afternoon and evening Thursday in western Arkansas, dumping as much as 10 inches in south Sebastian and Scott counties and as little as 4 inches in Van Buren, according to the National Weather Service office in Tulsa.
But the above-freezing air and the warm ground melted much of the snow on contact and left most paved roads wet but unfrozen. The clear roads were a source of disappointment for many students as schools in Fort Smith, Van Buren and Alma remained open Friday.
The clear roads also kept down the number traffic accidents. Troopers worked eight minor accidents Thursday and only one Friday, Lt. Mike Foster at Fort Smith’s Troop H office of the Arkansas State Police said.
By comparison, troopers worked 15 wrecks Monday after heavy rains soaked western Arkansas and caused flooding.
The snow in Fox left behind 3-foot drifts and made some roads impassible.
Postmaster Scott Blake camped in his office Thursday and Friday nights so he could open for business in the mornings.
Snow blocked the road to his home in Mountain View.
“I got food, blankets, pillows and a cot,” he said. “I brought my guitar and fiddle to pass the time.”
About an inch of snow fell in Little Rock, far short of the 8 inches that the National Weather Service had predicted.
By 4: 30 p. m. Friday, there were reports of slush turning to ice on roads in east Arkansas.
Mark Jacobi, public works operations coordinator for Little Rock, said road crews were on standby waiting for roads to freeze.
Motorists already were underestimating the slickness of roads by Friday afternoon in Arkansas County.
“They’re hitting the ditches right and left,” Sheriff Allen Cheek said. “We have 10 stuck right now.
“ It’s that slush, and the drivers aren’t taking it easy, because they think they have traction right now. Some spots are slicker than others, and when they hit slick spots, they’re losing it.” Power failures were widespread Friday, mostly the result of branches breaking and taking power lines with them. Entergy reported 30, 000 customers without power, including about 11, 000 from Russellville to Danville. Entergy also had power failures in and around Mountain View, Mountain Home, Harrison, Batesville, Mount Ida, Hot Springs and Pine Bluff.
The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas reported about 15, 000 failures spread across 74 of the state’s 75 counties. Southwestern Electric Power Co. reported about 5, 000 customers without power. Most were in Sebastian and Scott counties, but a few were spread south to Texarkana.
Arkansas public schools are required to hold classes for 178 days during the 2007-08 school year, said state Department of Education spokesman Julie J. Thompson.
Schools that close because of inclement weather are required to make up those days in whatever fashion they choose. Information for this article was contributed by Debra Hale-Shelton, Mike Linn, Kenneth Heard, Ginny LaRoe, Julie Stewart, Jake Sandlin and Dave Hughes of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The Associated Press also contributed information.
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