Texas and Oklahoma brace for snow and ice as winter storm barrels toward eastern two-thirds of US

DALLAS– Texas and Oklahoma are bracing for heavy snow and ice that could make roads dangerous Friday. Forecasters predict these will be the first effects of a massive winter storm that will last for several days, threatening catastrophic damage, significant power outages and bitter cold across two-thirds of the eastern United States.

In the Houston area, a utility company had 3,300 employees ready to weather the winter storm, while the Oklahoma Department of Transportation pretreated highways and interstates with salt brine. Freezing rain and sleet were also expected in New Mexico as early as Friday.

This massive storm system is expected to bring a crippling ice storm from Texas to parts of the South, potentially about a foot of snow from Oklahoma to Washington, D.C., New York and Boston, then a final blast of frigid air that could drop wind chills to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 46 Celsius) in parts of Minnesota and North Dakota.

Forecasters warn that damage, particularly in areas pounded by ice, could rival a hurricane. About 160 million people were under a winter storm or cold weather watch or warning — and in many places both.

Cold air from Canada caused Chicago Public Schools and Des Moines, Iowa, public schools to cancel classes Friday. The wind chill, forecast to be as low as minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 37 Celsius), could cause frostbite within 10 minutes, making it too dangerous to walk to school or wait for the bus.

The cold snap that follows means it will take some time to thaw, a particularly dangerous prospect in places where ice and snow weigh down tree branches and power lines and knock out power, perhaps for days. Roads and sidewalks could remain icy until next week.

Ice can add hundreds of pounds to power lines and branches and make them more likely to break, especially in windy weather.

Freezing temperatures are expected as far away as Florida, forecasters say.

Five years ago, a severe cold snap destroyed much of Texas’ power grid, leaving millions without power for days and leading to hundreds of deaths. Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday it won’t happen again, saying the power system “has never been stronger.”

Winter storms can be notoriously difficult to predict, with forecasters saying the locations with the worst weather cannot be identified until the event begins.

The governors of Georgia and Mississippi declared states of emergency.

In Huntsville, Alabama, employees of Jomo’s Power Equipment, Parts & Service Inc. sold dozens of generators in about a day and ordered an emergency shipment to meet customer demand.

“I would say 95 percent of the calls were generator-related or service-related or ‘Do you have any generators in stock,'” Bryan Hill, the store manager, said Thursday.

Lindsay Sylvester of Toney, Alabama, stocked up on bread and other supplies at home earlier this week and sent her son, who is in college, bread, gloves, candles and hand warmers.

Sylvester said she went to the store earlier in the week because she knew supplies would be sold out as the weekend approached.

“I heard a few people talk about going to Walmart and there being no milk or bread,” she said. “Everything needed was gone.”

As a precaution, North Carolina’s largest public school system prepared for potentially several days away from physical classrooms next week, asking its teachers to create three days of homework accessible online or in hard copies.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger asked residents to prepare for days without power or the ability to leave their neighborhoods. And in a nod to the politics of the day, the newly inaugurated Democrat said people shouldn’t be afraid to call 911 in an emergency simply because of the ongoing immigration crackdown in places like Minnesota.

Arkansas Department of Transportation spokesman Dave Parker urged people to be patient and stay home if possible once the storm hits.

As of Thursday, airlines had canceled hundreds of flights scheduled for Friday and Saturday, including at airports in Dallas, Atlanta, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

At a busy grocery store near downtown Dallas, Kennedi Mallard and Frank Green loaded two shopping carts full of supplies into their car. They said there were empty shelves inside.

“No water, no eggs, no butter, no ground meat,” Green said.

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Megnien reported from Atlanta and Collins from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press writers from across the country contributed to this report.