By EMILIE MEGNIEN, JEFFREY COLLINS and JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) — Freezing rain fell in parts of Texas on Friday as a huge, dayslong winter storm began a trek that threatened to bring snow, sleet, ice, bone-chilling temperatures and extensive power outages to about half the U.S. population. Forecasters warned that catastrophic damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival that of a hurricane.
Schools in Chicago and other Midwestern cities called off classes, airlines canceled thousands of weekend flights, churches moved Sunday services online and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, decided to hold its Saturday night radio performance without fans. Carnival parades in Louisiana were canceled or rescheduled.
At least 182 million people were under watches or warnings for ice and snow, and more than 210 million were under cold weather advisories or warnings. In many places those overlapped.
Utility companies braced for power outages because ice-coated trees and power lines can keep falling long after a storm has passed.
“It’s going to be a big storm,” Maricela Resendiz said as she picked up chicken, eggs and pizzas at a Dallas store to get her, her 5-year-old son and her boyfriend through the weekend. Her plans: “Staying in, just being out of the way.”
Freezing rain slickened roads in Lubbock, Texas, in the afternoon as temperatures dropped.
After sliding into the South, the storm was expected to move into the Northeast, dumping about a foot (30 centimeters) of snow from Washington through New York and Boston, the National Weather Service predicted.
Arctic air was the first piece to fall in place
Frigid air that spilled down from Canada prompted the cancellations of classes at schools throughout the Midwest. Wind chills as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 Celsius) meant that frostbite could set in within 10 minutes, making it too dangerous to walk to school or wait for the bus.
In Bismarck, North Dakota, where the wind chill was minus 41 (minus 41 Celsius), Colin Cross cleaned out an empty unit for the apartment complex where he works.
“I’ve been here awhile and my brain stopped working,” said Cross, bundled up in long johns, two long-sleeve shirts, a jacket, hat, hood, gloves and boots.
Despite the bitter cold, a protest over an immigration crackdown went on as planned in Minnesota, with thousands demonstrating in downtown Minneapolis.
Nationwide, nearly 5,000 flights were delayed or canceled Friday, many of them in Dallas and Chicago, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. About 2,800 were called off for Saturday.
In Oklahoma, Department of Transportation workers treated roads with salt brine, the Highway Patrol canceled troopers’ days off and National Guard units were activated to help stranded drivers.
The federal government put nearly 30 search and rescue teams on standby. Officials had more than 7 million meals, 600,000 blankets and 300 generators placed throughout the area the storm was expected to cross, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
President Donald Trump said via social media that his administration was coordinating with state and local officials and “FEMA is fully prepared to respond.”
Ice could take down power lines, and pipes could freeze
After the storm passes, it will take a while to thaw out. Ice can add hundreds of pounds to power lines and branches and make them more susceptible to snapping, especially if it’s windy.
In at least 11 Southern states from Texas to Virginia, a majority of homes are heated by electricity, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
A severe cold snap five years ago took down much of the power grid in Texas, leaving millions without power for days and resulting in hundreds of deaths. Gov. Greg Abbott vowed that will not happen again, and utility companies were bringing in thousands of employees to help keep the lights on.
In Atlanta, where temperatures could dip to 10 degrees (minus 12 Celsius) and stay below freezing for 36 hours, M. Cary & Daughters Plumbing co-owner Melissa Cary ordered all the pipe and repair supplies she could get. She predicted that her daily calls could go from about 40 to several hundred.
“We’re out there; we can’t feel our fingers, our toes; we’re soaking wet,” Cary said. “I keep the hot chocolate and soup coming.”
Northeast braces for possibly heaviest snow in years
Boston declared a cold emergency through the weekend, and Connecticut was working with neighboring New York and Massachusetts in case travel restrictions are needed on major highways.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont urged people to go grocery shopping now and “stay home on Sunday.”
Philadelphia announced schools would be closed Monday. Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. told students, “It’s also appropriate to have one or two very safe snowball fights.”
Hunkering down
Whittni Slater, who has been sleeping in his car in Detroit, got scared when he saw the weather forecast and searched for a place to stay. On Thursday night he slept on one 80 cots set up in a gymnasium at the Pope Francis Center.
“It was very welcoming, very warm,” Slater said the next day.
But in Charleston, West Virginia, visitors and vendors at the three-day Hunting and Fishing Show were not too worried. Ron Blymire was focused on selling South Africa safari trips and not on navigating the roads back home to Columbus, Ohio.
“I have a four-wheel-drive truck, and as long as I’m patient and take my time, I’m not concerned about getting stranded or stuck or anything like that,” he said.
Some universities in the South canceled classes for Monday, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Mississippi’s main campus in Oxford.
At the University of Georgia, in Athens, sophomore Eden England stayed on campus to ride things out with friends, even as the school encouraged students to leave dorms and go home because of concerns about losing power.
“I’d rather be with my friends,” England said, “kind of struggling together if anything happens.”
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Megnien and Amy reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers around the country contributed.