Loading...
Deep Freeze Follows Ice to Trap Many in their Homes Across South
Whoa! How about that for some frozen precipitation? If you are a fan of “the white stuff,” you’re probably as thrilled with the last week and a half as most of the kids who have been out of school due to the treacherous off-highway road conditions. This storm didn’t just bring a bit of snow, but a nice round of sleet, snow, and ice that made travel virtually impossible and fell in layers that prevented fast melting. Even after a day or three of temperatures in the upper 40s and 50s, the roads remained frozen. As far as non-traveled surfaces, it was difficult to even walk on foot thanks to the layer of ice that crusted what was beneath.
Tragically, three young children in Bonham lost their lives when playing too near the thin ice of a local pond. It really brought home just how meaningless our whining about the inconvenience of being out of bread and milk in such a situation can really be. Cold weather and this type of precipitation are as deadly as unairconditioned hot summer weather in Texas and in more ways than one. We only hope our less sheltered friends and neighbors with limited resources weathered the storm safely.
From where we sit near Little Rock, the storm brought much of the same it did to Roxton, although we might have received a little more precipitation. First there fell some freezing rain mixed with sleet that made a dense layer of ice directly on the ground. Then several inches of sleet fell followed by a little snow and another layer of ice. Temperatures remained below freezing several days, and no melting occurred except on the major highway that ARDot had pretreated.
As for our street, a north-facing cove, melting of the surface was non-existent even when the temperatures got above freezing for a couple of days. There was a little melting of the lowest layer in touch with the ground, but it did nothing except make the street even more difficult to traverse. Even a fire truck, an am- bulance, and several four-wheel drive vehicles stopped at the top of our street and carried a sick victim by hand three hundred feet uphill rather than dare to drive down and become stuck. It was hard to see, and the city is completely helpless when it comes to treating streets like the one we live on. But there are several others that are even worse, sloped and shaded from the sun. As of this writing, we are in day 9 of being trapped at the bottom of the hill, and I don’t see a way out until at least day 11 (we made it out on day 10). Of course, a week ago, I was expecting to be free by day 4. Once we traverse the top of the cove, we’ll be free, at least from what I read on social media. That week-old milk and bread are beginning to wane on me.
Not to belabor conditions in Arkansas, but from the photos we’ve received and published throughout this issue and on Facebook, the Roxton area is in very similar condition. Yes, your post office may be open and maybe some rural delivery is making the rounds, but it’s been spotty at best. And Roxton doesn’t have the same terrain as Central Arkansas, so you don’t have to worry as much about getting trapped in your driveway, although we have been told plenty of Roxtonites have not ventured out of their homes since the storm hit. Even “This Week in Texas History’s” Bartee Haile sent an inquiry from South Texas as to how Roxton was faring the weather. So know that you have not been forgotten. From reports we’ve been getting you aren’t a whole lot better off than we are in Arkansas.
For some good news (if you aren’t a kid who likes getting out of school or otherwise not a fan of “the white stuff), Accuweather’s 30-day forecast calls for no more bouts of frozen precipitation through the month of February. In fact, mainly 50s and 60s are forecasted for the month with a few days expected in the upper 40s. Then again, just a week before Roxton went into the deep freeze, Accuweather was calling for temperatures in the 50s and no precipitation for that fateful weekend. So it looks like you can get ready for a big thaw in at least for a couple of weeks, but don’t let your guard down. As a top Arkansas meteorologist so eloquently said on air last night, “Winter ain’t over yet.” The groundhog agreed.
Tragically, three young children in Bonham lost their lives when playing too near the thin ice of a local pond. It really brought home just how meaningless our whining about the inconvenience of being out of bread and milk in such a situation can really be. Cold weather and this type of precipitation are as deadly as unairconditioned hot summer weather in Texas and in more ways than one. We only hope our less sheltered friends and neighbors with limited resources weathered the storm safely.
From where we sit near Little Rock, the storm brought much of the same it did to Roxton, although we might have received a little more precipitation. First there fell some freezing rain mixed with sleet that made a dense layer of ice directly on the ground. Then several inches of sleet fell followed by a little snow and another layer of ice. Temperatures remained below freezing several days, and no melting occurred except on the major highway that ARDot had pretreated.
As for our street, a north-facing cove, melting of the surface was non-existent even when the temperatures got above freezing for a couple of days. There was a little melting of the lowest layer in touch with the ground, but it did nothing except make the street even more difficult to traverse. Even a fire truck, an am- bulance, and several four-wheel drive vehicles stopped at the top of our street and carried a sick victim by hand three hundred feet uphill rather than dare to drive down and become stuck. It was hard to see, and the city is completely helpless when it comes to treating streets like the one we live on. But there are several others that are even worse, sloped and shaded from the sun. As of this writing, we are in day 9 of being trapped at the bottom of the hill, and I don’t see a way out until at least day 11 (we made it out on day 10). Of course, a week ago, I was expecting to be free by day 4. Once we traverse the top of the cove, we’ll be free, at least from what I read on social media. That week-old milk and bread are beginning to wane on me.
Not to belabor conditions in Arkansas, but from the photos we’ve received and published throughout this issue and on Facebook, the Roxton area is in very similar condition. Yes, your post office may be open and maybe some rural delivery is making the rounds, but it’s been spotty at best. And Roxton doesn’t have the same terrain as Central Arkansas, so you don’t have to worry as much about getting trapped in your driveway, although we have been told plenty of Roxtonites have not ventured out of their homes since the storm hit. Even “This Week in Texas History’s” Bartee Haile sent an inquiry from South Texas as to how Roxton was faring the weather. So know that you have not been forgotten. From reports we’ve been getting you aren’t a whole lot better off than we are in Arkansas.
For some good news (if you aren’t a kid who likes getting out of school or otherwise not a fan of “the white stuff), Accuweather’s 30-day forecast calls for no more bouts of frozen precipitation through the month of February. In fact, mainly 50s and 60s are forecasted for the month with a few days expected in the upper 40s. Then again, just a week before Roxton went into the deep freeze, Accuweather was calling for temperatures in the 50s and no precipitation for that fateful weekend. So it looks like you can get ready for a big thaw in at least for a couple of weeks, but don’t let your guard down. As a top Arkansas meteorologist so eloquently said on air last night, “Winter ain’t over yet.” The groundhog agreed.