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Veteran
CNN) -- Freezing rain hit Oklahoma on Friday at the start of what forecasters say could be a brutal ice storm.
Millions of people in the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma and eastern Missouri are being warned that conditions will deteriorate Friday afternoon, and the storm could spread as far east as Ohio and New York over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
"This is a one-in-maybe-15- to 25-year event," CNN severe weather expert Chad Myers said Friday of the forecast freezing rain, sleet and snow. (Watch Myers explain why the event is so significant )
"The big story will be how many roads are shut down, airports are shut down and how many power lines are down because of the ice this weekend," Myers added.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, up to St. Louis, Missouri, could see "devastating consequences," Myers warned Friday. "You won't be able to get in or out of St. Louis tomorrow."
In Oklahoma City, Interstate 40 likely will shut down, he said.
Drivers already have had trouble on the roads there, with a truck slipping and flipping over, Oklahoma City TV station KWTV reported. One person was killed in that accident, KWTV said.
The city's Will Rogers World Airport already was seeing cancellations by Friday morning. As of noon CT (1 p.m. ET), United, Continental, Northwest, American, Southwest and British Airways had reported cancellations, according to the airport's Web site.
Tulsa International Airport also reported more than a dozen cancellations by noon.
Warnings announced
Rain is expected to fall through cold air coming from Canada and develop into an ice storm, Myers said.
Significant ice accumulations were expected Saturday night and Sunday across the Texas Panhandle through southern Oklahoma, according to the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service strongly discouraged travel during ice storm warnings, noting that downed power lines and fallen tree branches could pose dangers to drivers. In the event driving is necessary, people should keep an extra flashlight, food and water in the vehicle in case of emergency, the weather service advised.
Ice up to three-quarters of an inch will be likely by Saturday morning, and some parts could see ice accumulations of an inch and a half by Sunday, all of which could mean widespread power outages, the weather service said.
Millions of people in the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma and eastern Missouri are being warned that conditions will deteriorate Friday afternoon, and the storm could spread as far east as Ohio and New York over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
"This is a one-in-maybe-15- to 25-year event," CNN severe weather expert Chad Myers said Friday of the forecast freezing rain, sleet and snow. (Watch Myers explain why the event is so significant )
"The big story will be how many roads are shut down, airports are shut down and how many power lines are down because of the ice this weekend," Myers added.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, up to St. Louis, Missouri, could see "devastating consequences," Myers warned Friday. "You won't be able to get in or out of St. Louis tomorrow."
In Oklahoma City, Interstate 40 likely will shut down, he said.
Drivers already have had trouble on the roads there, with a truck slipping and flipping over, Oklahoma City TV station KWTV reported. One person was killed in that accident, KWTV said.
The city's Will Rogers World Airport already was seeing cancellations by Friday morning. As of noon CT (1 p.m. ET), United, Continental, Northwest, American, Southwest and British Airways had reported cancellations, according to the airport's Web site.
Tulsa International Airport also reported more than a dozen cancellations by noon.
Warnings announced
Rain is expected to fall through cold air coming from Canada and develop into an ice storm, Myers said.
Significant ice accumulations were expected Saturday night and Sunday across the Texas Panhandle through southern Oklahoma, according to the National Weather Service.
The National Weather Service strongly discouraged travel during ice storm warnings, noting that downed power lines and fallen tree branches could pose dangers to drivers. In the event driving is necessary, people should keep an extra flashlight, food and water in the vehicle in case of emergency, the weather service advised.
Ice up to three-quarters of an inch will be likely by Saturday morning, and some parts could see ice accumulations of an inch and a half by Sunday, all of which could mean widespread power outages, the weather service said.
