Thursday, September 11, 2008
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Sledding in the three inches of snow we got yesterday
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Sledding in the three inches of snow we got yesterday
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A blast of sleet, ice and snow that moved through Northwest Arkansas early Friday kept Carroll County sheriff’s deputies busy all morning working traffic accidents — including one in which a woman went into labor.
During a midday lull when streets appeared a little clearer, officials throughout the region braced for a second wave of snow expected to move through later Thursday.
Thursday morning’s storm took its toll in Carroll, Benton and Franklin counties. Snowfall ranged from a half inch in Gravette to 5 inches near Berryville. An additional 3-5 inches was expected throughout the evening, said Nicole McGavock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Tulsa.
Highs in the area today are expected to be in the low 40 s, causing much of the snow to melt, she said.
“Right now, the roads are in good shape, but we’re worried about the second front that is coming through,” Carroll County Sheriff Bob Grudek said shortly before 1: 30 p.m. Thursday.
Conditions began worsening as another band of snow moved through the area, beginning about 2 p.m. Thursday.
Carroll County deputies responding to a multicar accident on U. S. 412 near Osage around 9 a.m. thought they might end up playing midwife to one of the passengers.
“When our deputies arrived, they were informed she was pregnant and having contractions,” Grudek said. “They were really relieved when the ambulance showed up.” Grudek didn’t know the woman’s name or what hospital she was taken to.
Cars had trouble staying on U. S. 62 between Green Forest and Alpena, known locally as “twin bridges.” Other motorists avoided accidents, but got stuck while traveling hills on highways such as Arkansas 21 and Arkansas 103, he said. Motorists kept Carroll County deputies and state troopers busy calling wrecker services to pull them out. By early afternoon, Grudek’s staff encountered no injures. Four criminal investigators and a civil process server joined regular patrol deputies so that the county had nine staff members cruising.
ACCIDENTS ACROSS AREA In Bentonville, police officer Tracy Brown said about 10 accidents had been reported Thursday morning. Benton County Sgt. Doug Gaye said several minor accidents happened throughout the county Thursday. Franklin County had sleet and icy conditions Thursday morning, causing about six vehicles on Interstate 40 and one on Arkansas 22 to slide into ditches, said Fred Mullen, coordinator for Franklin County’s Office of Emergency Management.
Washington County and its two largest cities didn’t experience significant trouble Thursday morning. The Fayetteville Police Department reported two accidents Thursday morning. As of 3 p.m. Thursday, Springdale had two reported accidents.
Sheriff ’s office dispatchers in Baxter and Newton counties said several tractor-trailers jackknifed or became stuck on roads Thursday morning. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department reported snow, sleet and slush covering highways in the state’s north. Bill Sadler, a spokesman for the Arkansas State Police, said troopers responded to numerous crashes in the region, many of which were around Harrison and immediately south of that city.
The Springdale Public Works Department spread gravel at known trouble spots like the intersection at U. S. 71 Business and Backus Avenue on the north side of town, as well as at Mountain Road and Woodcliff Drive on the east side. Crews also spread gravel around Northwest Medical Center-Springdale and the fire stations, said Public Works Director Sam Goade.
In Fayetteville, the city Transportation Department coated hills and bridges with salt water. Transportation crews knew the morning weather was a prelude to more severe conditions later in the day. “We’re planning on working all night,” said Terry Gulley, transportation superintendent.
AIRPORT STAYS OPEN At Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Highfill, 14 employees, four snow plows and two snow blowers worked throughout the day to keep the runway clear and flights on time. Kelly Johnson, airport director, said ground temperatures were warm enough that the airport did not have to use chemicals to keep the runway from freezing. The runway has built-in sensors that alert officials if ice could form, she said.
Plows were expected to work until at least midnight when the weather was forecasted to subside.
In western Arkansas, county road crews were preparing sand and salt mixtures to spread on roads and bridges. In Franklin County, emergency medical companies were bringing in extra crews, because wintry weather would slow response times, Mullen said.
The Benton County Road Department had spread about 200 tons of sand on county roads before Thursday afternoon. The department expected to use as much as 400 tons before the storm system moved out of the area, said Dennis Greenlee, the department’s fleet manager.
The department used about 30 trucks, some equipped with salt and sand spreaders and blades, to scoop away snow. The Benton County administration offices were closed Thursday, Bentonville City Hall closed at 2 p.m. and Rogers City Hall at 3 p.m. “It’s not a monumental snowfall, but we have folks that don’t need to travel in this,” said Bentonville Mayor Bob McCaslin. Brian Smith, a forecaster for the National Weather Service office at North Little Rock, said 4 inches of snow fell on Mountain Home and Lead Hill and that 3 inches fell at Mountain View. Forecasts said up to 3 inches of additional snow would fall across the northern half of the state overnight.
EASIER TO MAKE CALLS Because of the timing of Thursday’s storm, area schools had a much easier time deciding whether to cancel classes than they did when the area got a blast of sleet and freezing rain a few days ago. Schools across the northern part of the state canceled classes Thursday, including Arkansas State University at Jonesboro.
The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville was operating under normal class schedules and business hours on Thursday, said spokesman Tysen Kendig.
“Now certainly, there may be isolated cases where faculty members may have chosen to cancel their individual classes,” Kendig said, and if so, students can consult the class syllabus for procedures on notification and making up the content.
Northwest Arkansas Community College closed Thursday.
School districts in Fayetteville, Rogers, Springdale and Bentonville also closed Thursday. Bentonville and Rogers decided Thursday afternoon to cancel today’s classes, according to the district’s Web sites.
The districts often coordinate their closure decisions. They want to decide as soon as possible, and preferably the night before, but at the same time, officials need enough information to make a good call since the weather can change so quickly, they said. So the decisions aren’t that easy.
“The forecast yesterday, you’re hearing everything from 2 to 8 inches of snow,” said Rick Schaeffer, spokesman for the Springdale School District.
“We’re not weather gurus,” said Bentonville Superintendent Gary Compton, but the district has a lot of “eyes and ears” on the ground when it comes time to make a decision.
“A little after 5 [o’clock ], you could hear the ice crystals starting to fall,” Compton said. Before that, the district’s transportation supervisor, Ed Viera, had hit the streets beginning at 4 a.m.
And a lot of times, the district’s army of bus drivers are the best source of information.
“They’re always the earliest to come in to work,” Compton said. “And they come from Pea Ridge, Missouri, Lowell — from all around us; they come from everywhere.” Information for this article was contributed by Richard Massey, Dave Hughes and Amanda O’Toole of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and The Associated Press.
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