2-5 Inch Snowfall Forecast
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A storm that toppled power lines, closed major highways and buried parts of the southern Plains in heavy ice and snow began moving into the Midwest early Friday, leaving tens of thousands of people in the dark - possibly for several more days.
Today's expected snowfall here in Perry County is forecast to be between 2 and 5 inches, growing deeper the farther south you go with as much as 8 inches in deep Southern Illinois and up to a foot of snow in Kentucky and Tennessee. Forecasts called for the local snow beginning at mid-day today and continuing into early Saturday morning.
The Associated Press said this morning winter storm warnings were in effect from New Mexico to North Carolina, and Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe declared a state of emergency. The storm threatened to dump up to a foot of snow across the region after leaving 13 inches in the northern Texas Panhandle, where nearly all of Interstate 40 from the Texas-Oklahoma line to New Mexico was closed.
Heavy ice brought down electrical lines and trees limbs, leaving nearly 142,000 homes and businesses in Oklahoma without power Friday, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
"In some places, as far you can see there are hundreds of utility poles on the ground," said Andrea Chancellor, spokeswoman for Public Service Co. of Oklahoma. She said it could be five days before electricity is restored to all customers.
More than two dozen flights were canceled Friday morning at Oklahoma City's main airport. The snow, sleet and freezing rain were expected to crawl east through Friday. In Arkansas, as much as a foot of snow could fall near the Missouri border, northern parts of central Tennessee could see up to 8 inches and western North Carolina could get hit with a foot of snow, according to the National Weather Service.
More snow also was expected in Texas and Oklahoma, where dozens of shelters were opened for those who needed a warm place to stay, including First United Methodist Church in Hobart, about 120 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. Pastor Kyle Clark said downed trees and utility poles littered the slick roadways and most of the town of about 4,000 residents had no electricity.