More Freezing Rain, Temperatures Expected for Central US

More Freezing Rain, Temperatures Expected for Central US
A small berry bush is covered with ice in a Tulsa neighborhood, on Jan. 14, 2017. Jessie Wardarski/Tulsa World via AP
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KANSAS CITY, Mo.—A third wave of sleet and drizzle could hit parts of the central U.S. on the eve of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, weather officials said, and temperatures threaten to stay near or below freezing and add to the treacherous mix.

Ice buildups of one-quarter to slightly less than a half inch were expected late Saturday and Sunday morning from southeastern Kansas to central Missouri.

Becky Allmeroth, a state maintenance engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation, said ice is “the most difficult storm to fight.”

“We are keeping up with the changing conditions, but it is a continual battle,” she said of the department’s around-the-clock scrambling to treat the glazed roads. “The precipitation is coming in waves, and we have to apply more salt.”

Icy roads Saturday created dangerous conditions and travel headaches for many people who avoided authorities’ pleas to stay indoors except for necessary outings.

A Missouri Department of Transportation salt truck spreads ice melt on Interstate 55 as coated tree branches sway overhead as seen from the Main Street bridge in Festus, Mo., on Jan. 13, 2017. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
A Missouri Department of Transportation salt truck spreads ice melt on Interstate 55 as coated tree branches sway overhead as seen from the Main Street bridge in Festus, Mo., on Jan. 13, 2017. Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP