Freezing rain causes accidents, closures in southern Plains

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A thick glaze of ice covered roads from Oklahoma to southern Illinois today amid a winter storm that caused numerous wrecks, forced cancellation of schools, grounded flights and prompted dire warnings for people to stay home.

Winter storms are typically associated with heavy snowfall, but the one hammering the southern Plains and Midwest dumped freezing rain, a condition even harder for road crews to treat. A slick roadway was suspected in a fatal wreck in Missouri, where long stretches of Interstate 44 and Interstate 55 were ice-covered.

More freezing precipitation was expected in parts of the nation's central corridor throughout most of the holiday weekend.

"There's no mystery to driving on ice," Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Al Nothum said. "It's impossible to do. You have to slow your speed down."

Hundreds of schools were closed, including several college campuses. St. Louis closed all city operations as it braced for its worst ice storm in at least a decade. Several Missouri prisons halted visiting hours.

The weather atmosphere was so turbulent that thunder rumbled as freezing rain fell in Joplin, Mo.

Several utility companies brought in all available crews who were working extended shifts in anticipation of heavy ice snapping trees and power lines. Scattered outages were reported, including about 2,500 in Springfield, Mo.