An ice storm slickened roads from the Southern Plains to the Great Lakes Sunday, Dec. 9, and the worst could be yet to come, forecasters predict. Ice storm warnings stretched from Texas to Pennsylvania as wintry weather was expected to continue through midweek.
Thirteen traffic deaths were blamed on icy roads in Oklahoma, where roads were considered slick and hazardous by the state Department of Transportation. On ice-covered Interstate 40 west of Okemah, four people died in “one huge cluster of an accident” that involved 11 vehicles, including a tractor-trailer rig, Highway Patrol Trooper Betsey Randolph told the Associated Press. All 11 vehicles burned, she told the news service. Eight other people also died on icy Oklahoma roads, and Missouri had one death on a slippery highway.
Some communities in Missouri reported ice as thick as three-quarters of an inch, the Weather Service told the AP. Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency.
