LITTLE ROCK -- A 17-year-old boy died Friday in an Arkansas traffic accident related to rain, sleet and snow from an artic high pressure system bringing wintry weather until Saturday afternoon.
Rogers police said the boy, whose identity wasn't released, died after the vehicle he was in slid off of an icy road and into Lake Atalanta. Two others in the car escaped and alerted authorities. State safety and transportation authorities didn't receive any other reports of serious accidents.
An Entergy spokeswoman said there weren't any weather-related power outages and that all of about 30,000 residents who lost power during Monday's storm were back online by Wednesday.
National Weather Service meteorologists in North Little Rock said freezing rain fell across parts of central Arkansas Friday. Northeast Arkansas, which was placed under a winter storm warning, received some sleet and up to one-tenth of an inch of ice was possible.
Meteorologist Jeff Hood said the freezing precipitation should be finished by Saturday afternoon and that temperatures could jump into the 50s.
Until then, Hood warned people in iced-over areas to stay home.
"Just ride this out; If you can make it through this evening tomorrow will be a much different weather story," Hood said Friday.
Another artic high pressure system is projected to move in Saturday night. Meteorologists said central and southern Arkansas could receive snow on Sunday night.
A state police spokesman said Friday that troopers assisted with a couple of jack-knifed semitrailers and cars that slid off of the road during the morning rush hour. Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokesman Rick Fahr said that four school busses were involved in weather-related accidents Friday morning but that no students on board were injured.
He also warned against unnecessary travel, especially in northeastern Arkansas where icy conditions are expected to linger.
"With ice, you can't always see it and it can be patchy." Fahr said.
State Desk on 02/21/2015