TEXARKANA - Roads in Texarkana are extremely treacherous and may remain so as more snow and ice are expected to fall in the coming days.
These are "dangerous conditions" according to the National Weather Service in Shreveport.
"We don't anticipate getting above freezing for several days, " said Lisa May, meteorologist with NWS.
"Most of the week will be below freezing temperatures with the mix of more snow and freezing rain added to that. That will add more fuel to the fire so to speak. It' just a good idea not to get out. Road crews are doing what they can but it's a mess and going to be a mess for a while," May said.
A winter storm warning is in effect through 6 p.m. Monday, according to NWS. Total snowfalls amounts in Texarkana are estimated to be between four and six inches with some locations reporting as much as eight inches.
Total accumulations will not be available until Tuesday, May said. The highest amount recorded Monday was nine inches south of Texarkana, May said.
Precipitation was expected to end late Monday, but single-digit temperatures were anticipated overnight.
A hard freeze warning is in effect through 6 a.m. Tuesday.
It was 12 degrees in Texarkana about 9 a.m. Monday and felt like -2 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 1 below zero are expected across the I-30 corridor early Tuesday.
Another winter storm will begin impacting the region late Tuesday night with a widespread wintry mix again Wednesday and Wednesday night before exiting the region late Thursday. Significant ice and snow accumulations will be possible with this midweek winter storm as well.
These conditions will make driving incredibly dangerous throughout the day.
Police were dealing with cars going off the roads early Monday and were asking people to please not drive at all unless it was an absolute emergency.
"The roads are bad," said Shawn Vaughn, spokesman for the Texarkana Texas Police Department early Monday. "We are encouraging everyone to stay home if at all possible."
Lots of cars were in ditches early Monday, but Vaughn said he was not aware of any serious accidents.
Arkansas State Police Lt. Jamie Gravier said roads are "extremely dangerous" and warned people not to drive.
ASP warns that if you must get out on the roads, make sure you have blankets, water and gas in your vehicle.
No highways in Bowie or Miller counties were officially closed, according to state traffic sites.
Arkansas Department of Transportation crews were out all night Sunday with salt spreaders, said William Cheatham with ArDOT.
"We've had some crews from Little Rock here helping, and we are making some ground. I-30 is moving fairly well through our district. There is still a lot of ice and snow on secondary roads," Cheatham said.
The biggest concern is the refreezing of ice Monday night and Tuesday morning.
"Once we get the snow off, we will start salting again. It will be salt and blade, salt and blade We will have crews working 24-7 until this is better," Cheatham said.
The Texas Department of Transportation had pre-treated major roads with brine solution and then transitioned to treating frozen surfaces with granular material.
"These pretreatments and treatments will not be able to stop the driving surfaces from freezing but will help us get back to normal sooner than we would," according to Texas Department of Transportation.