By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather staff writer
January 14,2017, 11:18:37AM,EST
For the latest forecast information on the ice storm, click here.
Ice storm warning remains in effect for the majority of the Central states. Freezing drizzle and rain will add more to ice accumulations. Heavier accumulations of ice may cause damage to tree limbs and power lines leading to power outages.
As of 8:30 a.m. CST power is being restored. The outage map in Illinois shows 345 customers are without power. Power outages have decreased to 3,773 in Missouri.
Power outages are rising to almost 5,000 in parts of Missouri as ice continues to glaze the Central states through early Sunday morning.
Roads, bridges and overpasses will most likely be hazardous and slick.
"Residents of Kansas and central Missouri, including Wichita and Kansas City, that dealt with freezing rain glazing surfaces on Friday night, but are starting Saturday dry should not let their guard down," AccuWeather Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski said.
"The worst of the ice storm is still yet to come. Freezing rain in the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma will spread back northward on Saturday afternoon into the night, before persisting into Sunday," Pydynowski said.
According to OK DOT all lanes of I-40 are closed just west of Weatherford in Custer County as of 6:30 a.m. CST. Roads are slick and hazardous, drivers should avoid the area.
Driving in these conditions is dangerous. If you must travel, use extreme caution, reduce speed and stay back 150 feet from snow removal equipment.
If traffic light signals are not working due to a power outage, treat dark signals as a four-way stop.
A long-duration ice storm will continue to cause dangerous travel and power outages from Texas to Ohio into Sunday.
"Travel is likely to be hazardous for hundreds of miles along Interstate 35, I-40 and I-70 in the Central states," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rossio.
The most significant icing is expected to occur from western Oklahoma to central Kansas, where substantial power outages and tree damage will occur.
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Power outages are mounting as ice continues to glaze the Central states. As of 6 a.m. CST, over 5,000 Ameren customers are without power in Missouri. In Illinois, nearly 900 Ameren customers are in the dark.
As ice expands into central and southern Illinois, roadway conditions are quickly deteriorating across the state. According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, portions of interstates 55, 64, 70 and 72 are partially or completely covered with ice as of 3:45 a.m. CST.
Ice accumulations as of 3 a.m. CST:
Freezing rain is expanding to the north and east across Missouri early Saturday morning. Ice has resumed in the St. Louis metro area after a brief break during Friday evening. Large stretches of Interstate 70 are slick due to the ice, the Missouri Department of Transportation reports.
As of 10 p.m. CST, freezing rain has begun to fall in and around the Kansas City metro area. Icy spots are developing quickly on area roadways and several accidents have already been reported. Road conditions will continue to deteriorate throughout the night across the region.
Several crashes, including a 22-car pileup in downtown Wichita, Kansas, were caused by freezing rain and ice along the city's highways on Friday night. According to KAKE, the pileup occurred on the off ramp from westbound Kellogg to the Central Business District. A man whose car was part of the accident said the ramp was "like ice." No significant injuries are reported, but people are advised to stay off the roads.
Other crashes across Wichita, according to KAKE, include a crash on Lincoln and McClean, where the bridge on Lincoln over the Arkansas river was closed. Also, on K-96 and Oliver, police were advising people to avoid the area as multiple accidents were congesting the highway.
City officials instated the Emergency Accident Reporting Plan due to the weather conditions, KAKE reported.
In a news conference late on Friday afternoon, according to the AP, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens thanked the state’s residents for staying off roads during the ice storm but warned that dangerous conditions will remain through Sunday.
The Missouri Highway Patrol reports it responded to about 100 crashes on Friday, with only one fatality related to the storm. Power outages were small and scattered across the state.
While temperatures have risen above freezing in far southern Missouri, said AccuWeather Meterologist Randy Adkins, much of the state will continue to deal with freezing rain and drizzle overnight. The heaviest/steadiest activity will occur along the I-44 corridor from the St. Louis Metro to areas just north of Springfield.
"Expect very dangerous driving conditions, not just from slippery roads, but also from downed tree branches and power lines as the weight of the ice increases," Adkins said.
The Kansas Highway Patrol has reported that state offices were closed at 2 p.m. CST due to the hazardous weather conditions caused by the ice storm. Officers will still be on the road and a dispatch answering service is in place.
Illinois Department of Transportation (I) crews will be working around the clock this weekend to respond to any emergencies related to the ice storm.
Football fans who are planning to attend the NFL divisional round matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers in Kansas City on Sunday will need to re-adjust their schedules. Due to the severity of the storm, on Friday afternoon, the NFL announced that the kickoff time had been moved to 8:20 p.m. EST. The game had originally been scheduled for 1:05 p.m. EST.
A steady rain will continue to fill in around the St. Louis metro area, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dean DeVore.
A storm total of 0.25 to 0.50 of an inch of ice is expected for the area through midday Saturday.
Some icy conditions have already been reported along Interstate 44 from St. Louis into southwestern Missouri, Devore added.
As of 12:20 p.m. CST Friday, about 0.25 of an inch of ice has been reported in areas across south-central Missouri and the heaviest area of freezing rain will continue to move into southern Illinois during the afternoon.
Sporadic power outages have been reported around Springfield, Missouri, with trees down in the area as well.
A fatal crash was reported on northbound Interstate 55 near Festus, Missouri, on Friday, morning. Festus is located about 40 minutes south of St. Louis.
As the ice storm develops, here is a list of vital tips to follow to deal with the storm. It is widely recommended that residents stay indoors and avoid traveling, unless necessary.
The storm preparations began Thursday in Olathe, Kansas. Customers nearly emptied the shelves in this Walmart.
The Kansas Division of Emergency Management activated the State Emergency Operations Center in Topeka, at 7 a.m. Friday. This will help officials monitor the impacts of the winter storm that will cover much of the state.
Officials said that residents are urged to stay home and avoid travel unless absolutely necessary.
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