DALLAS — Schools and buildings from Texas to Georgia were shut down Thursday or prepared to close ahead of freezing rain and snow forecast for much of the Southern U.S. as another burst of plunging temperatures and winter storms threatened to again snarl travel.
Texas schools canceled classes for more than 1 million students in anticipation of icy and potentially dangerous conditions that could last into Friday. Closures also kept students home in Kansas City and Arkansas’ capital, Little Rock, while Virginia’s capital, Richmond, remained under a weather-related boil advisory.
The cold snap coincided with rare January wildfires tearing through the Los Angeles area, forcing residents to flee from burning homes through flames, ferocious winds and towering clouds of smoke.
In the Dallas area, crews treated roads ahead of the expected arrival of 2 to 4 inches (about 5 to 10 centimeters) of snow Thursday. Up to 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) was expected farther north near Oklahoma, according to the National Weather Service.
Gov. Greg Abbott said the state deployed emergency crews in advance and urged residents to avoid driving in bad weather if possible.
Boston native Gina Eaton, who stocked up on groceries in Dallas ahead of the storm, said she has some trepidation sharing roads with drivers unaccustomed to ice and snow.
“Even if there is ice, I’m very comfortable driving in it,” Eaton said. “It’s just other people that scare me.”
Roads could be slick Friday as 75,000 fans were expected head to AT&T Stadium in Arlington for the college football championship semifinal between Texas and Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. Arlington spokesperson Susan Shrock said crews will be ready to address any hazardous road conditions.
A mix of sleet, snow and freezing rain was expected along a stretch from New Mexico to Alabama. Forecasters said the heaviest amounts were likely in parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas.
The system was expected to push northeastward by Friday with heavy snow and freezing rain all the way to the Virginia and North Carolina coasts. As much as 8 inches (about 20 centimeters) of snow could fall in parts of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia through Saturday, the weather service said.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced the closure of some state offices on Friday. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said city offices would be closed, with employees working remotely.
Tennessee Emergency Management Agency Director Patrick Sheehan said he expected schools across the state to close Friday, although decisions will be made at the local level.
The polar vortex of ultra-cold air usually spins around the North Pole, but it sometimes ventures south into the U.S., Europe and Asia. Some experts say such events are happening more frequently, paradoxically, because of a warming world.
Some parts of Kansas have received nearly an entire year’s average of snow over the past few days, hitting farmers and ranchers “in ways that we haven’t seen in this area for a very, very long time, potentially a lifetime,” said Chip Redmond, a meteorologist at Kansas State University.
Calves are especially at risk and can die when temperatures slip below zero. And so much snow in rural areas can keep farmers from reaching herds with food and water
In northern Florida, growers were most concerned about ferns that are cultivated for floral arrangements, with Valentine’s Day only a month away.
Richmond will remain under the boil-water advisory until at least Friday as officials work to restore the water reservoir system, which malfunctioned after a storm caused a power outage, Mayor Danny Avula said.
The city of more than 200,000 was distributing bottled water at 11 sites and delivering it to older residents and others who are unable to get to those locations, officials said.
“We’ve got families in the city, they don’t have any water,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday. “We’ve got young children where mothers are asking, ‘What do I do about baby formula?’”
Thousands of flights across the U.S. have been delayed or canceled this week amid the winter storms. Hundreds of car accidents have also been reported this week in Virginia, where three people were killed, Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky.
Other weather-related fatal accidents have occurred since last weekend in West Virginia, North Carolina and Kansas.
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Murphy reported from Oklahoma City. Associated Press reporters Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City; Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta; Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas; Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia; Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; Chris O’Meara in Tampa, Florida; John Raby in Cross Lanes, West Virginia; Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky; and Julie Walker in New York contributed.
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Read more of the AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment