A slow-moving storm which has developed over the Southwestern US, is expected to bring a stretch of rain & snow across Central United States.
With cold air at the surface and warmer air from the south moving on top of the cold, this precipitation will fall as freezing rain or snow could create dangerous driving conditions.
At least five traffic-related deaths were reported due to this severe storm and thousands were left without power.
Ice storm warnings and winter weather advisories were in effect for almost 10 states from New Mexico to Wisconsin. The storm hit the region around Friday.
Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri were most affected. The weather service has issued a tornado watch for most parts of Texas and a tornado warning for west of Waco.
Temperatures are expected to settle above freezing point from Monday for most areas of the region.
This period of freezing rain and icing in the Central Plains is usually a two to three-day event. This weather activity is likely to continue through Sunday night and into the morning.
Ice accumulations ranging from a half inch to an inch, particularly in northwest parts of Oklahoma, can cause significant damage to trees and bring down power lines for widespread areas.
The temperature is likely to hover around the freezing mark for long periods and will move several hundred miles north and south on Saturday and Sunday. This may bring a variety of precipitation types to many locations, from rain to freezing rain and ice, and back to rain again several times.
Kansas City will see significant icing through the morning on Sunday, changing over to rain early in the afternoon.
Image Credit: theguardian.com
