By STEVE KNOX
Osceola Times
Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders has declared a state of emergency ahead of the winter weather which hit the Western part of the state Monday.
Governor Sanders’ declaration allows commercial vehicles hauling heavy equipment, oversized loads, transformers, necessary hardware, transmission and distribution equipment; commercial carriers transporting groceries, pharmacy supplies, medical equipment, commodities, fuel, livestock or feed and electric utility trucks to bypass weigh stations until Jan. 13.
The rest of the state is expected to be impacted as the week goes on.
The chances of winter weather creating travel issues across Northeast Arkansas are high with the possibility for snow to be greatest late Thursday night into Friday.
Snow accumulation Thursday will be about half an inch with an additional one to six inches expected to fall Friday with the heaviest precipitation expected to fall between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m.
The high temperature Thursday in the area is expected to top out at 34 degrees with the low dropping to near 25 degrees. The chance of precipitation is 80% Thursday night and near 100% Friday.
Winds are expected to from the Northeast at five miles per hour with gusts of up to 20 miles per hour. Wind chills during the period between Thursday and Saturday are expected to be between 5 and 10 degrees during the overnight hours.
Friday’s high is expected to be near 32 degrees with the low being near 22 degrees.
The frozen precipitation is expected to create travel issues on area roads and icing on bridges. Saturday’s high is only predicted to be 33 degrees so any precipitation which falls could linger throughout the weekend.