atlanta — No-ice salt bags aren’t typically a hot item at Bates Ace Hardware in Atlanta, but store manager Louis Bahn He sold all 275 he had They were in stock one morning as residents were bracing for a major storm bringing heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain. A broad sector of the United States In the coming days.
Payne said he received 30 online requests for “ice melts” before 8 a.m., where people sprinkle salts on the ground before a storm to disrupt ice formation.
“It’s impossible to get that opportunity now,” Payne said. “We’ve had to make special trips to our warehouses to pick up extra materials because people need them.”
The storm is expected to hit starting Friday, extending from New Mexico to New England and across the Deep South. The damage can be rivaled That’s a big hurricane.
Meteorologists say ice may remain on roads and sidewalks because temperatures will be slow to rise in many areas. Snow can too Trees weigh and power lines, resulting in widespread outages.
The city of Carmel, Indiana, has canceled the Winter Games for fear that residents will suffer frostbite and hypothermia while competing in ice cycling races and “human curling,” in which people slide down a rink on inner tubes.
University sports teams Moved or postponed matches, The Texas Rangers have canceled their annual Fan Fest event.
The National Weather Service said the coldest wind gusts could dip below -50 degrees Fahrenheit (-46 degrees Celsius) across the northern Plains, with subzero wind chills reaching as far into the Southeast as the mid-Atlantic states and the Southern Plains.
At an Atlanta hardware store, Wendy Chambers stopped to pick up batteries and flashlights in case the power went out.
“We’ll be ready, right? We’ll be able to read and do things and play games,” she said before heading to the church choir with her granddaughter.
Oklahoma truck driver Charles Daniel planned to load as much cargo as he could before the storm arrived in his area on Friday.
“You have to be very weather aware and very smart about what you’re doing,” said Daniel, who delivers across western Oklahoma in an 18-wheel trailer.
“You can’t back down to curbs, you can’t go into neighborhoods or parking lots,” Daniel said. “We’ve been unloading 40,000 pounds. One mistake can kill someone, so you have to use your brain.”
He said truck drivers need a change of clothes, plenty of water, and jackets on hand in case they get stuck, because it will take some time before a tow truck can help them.
In Arkansas, the Department of Transportation began treating some roads with brine on Tuesday. Salt helps prevent ice from forming. More than 10 inches of snow is expected in parts of the state.
Rain was complicating road salt remediation efforts in Alabama on Wednesday because rainfall washes away salt water. The Alabama Department of Transportation encouraged people to stay off the roads if icy conditions occur.
“Any amount of ice is very dangerous, and certainly a quarter of an inch can be very dangerous,” said Seth Burkett, a department spokesman.
Snow and icy conditions are expected in Maryland starting Saturday afternoon or evening, with impacts peaking Saturday night into Sunday morning. The governor announced a state of readiness to help the authorities respond quickly.
The governors of North Carolina and South Carolina have declared states of emergency, making it easier for state and local agencies to coordinate and get help from groups like the National Guard.
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Murphy reported from Oklahoma City. Associated Press writers Brian Witt in Annapolis, Maryland. Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky; Jimmy Stengel in Dallas; Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; ; Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.