SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The U.S. is facing one of its biggest winter storms in decades. The storm is bringing snow, ice and freezing temperatures to more than a dozen states as it moves from the Rockies across the plains today and then into the Northeast tomorrow. Some 200 million Americans are under weather alerts. That's more than half the population, and tens of thousands of people have already lost power. Barry Brandt is chief meteorologist with ABC 7 in Little Rock, Arkansas, and joins us now. Mr. Brandt, thanks so much for being with us.
BARRY BRANDT: Scott, good day to you. Yeah. What a storm we have coming our way.
SIMON: Well, tell us about it. What are you seeing so far today? 'Cause you're in the direct path, as I understand it.
BRANDT: Yes. We are in the direct path. Last night, we had a starting of sleet and snow, and it's going to kind of be a mixed bag of precipitation types. And we're going to have all of them here, from freezing rain, that ice in southern Arkansas, to heavy snow in north Arkansas. And then we're kind of in the middle of the state in Little Rock, in that combination zone. Last night, it snowed a lot, so it is already piling up. It will continue all day today. We're not going to make it out of the teens. This is a very impactful snow, and it doesn't just stop here. It's all, as you said, from the Southern Rockies to the Northeast.
SIMON: How are people in Little Rock doing?
BRANDT: You know, so far, great. It didn't start until later last night, so we were able to have another evening of preparation. There were a lot of folks out. But I think if people try to get out today during the day, it's only going to get worse, so there'll be accidents. Hopefully, everybody's staying at home. And I think that's good advice, no matter where you are in the United States affected by this storm.
SIMON: And what are you most concerned about?
BRANDT: I think in our state, not just the ice in southern Arkansas, but the heavy, heavy snow. We could have 10 or 15 inches of snow north, and that runs right along that I-40 corridor all the way toward Nashville and then eventually up into the big cities of the Northeast. Ice, though, is the worst, and that's freezing rain. That's liquid rain that falls, and at the surface, it freezes. You've got power lines. You've got trees. And you've got power outages that are just going to be really, really awful. Already starting, but it's going to get a whole lot worse.
SIMON: That's 'cause the ice freezes on the power lines and that creates more weight, and the power lines come down, right?
BRANDT: Yeah. They say in just a short stretch of power lines, you can have a quarter inch of ice, and it puts 500 pounds of pressure just between power poles. So it's going to bring power lines down. And that's what everybody is so concerned about because it's so cold, and if you can't heat your house, then it becomes a real issue. Sleet is another deal. That's frozen ice pellets. It doesn't accumulate on tree limbs or power lines.
SIMON: Storm is making its way east. What are you eyeing today and into tomorrow?
BRANDT: Well, I have friends in the Eastern United States and family members. I just looked over into Nashville. They're going to have a real mixed bag, sort of like Central Arkansas. They're going to have sleet and heavy snow, but they also have a freezing rain - that ice component to it. And that will go all the way to Washington, D.C. I think the Atlanta metro - they're in an ice storm warning, and that's really going to pick up as we head into this evening. And then into the Carolinas, the Southern Appalachians - that's going to be an ice zone. You go north. You go from Oklahoma City through Missouri, up through the Ohio Valley and then eventually all the way to New England, to Maine. This is from New Mexico to Maine. It's just a broad swath of just terrible winter weather. I don't think I've seen anything like this for quite some time.
SIMON: Well, that's saying something. Barry Brandt, chief meteorologist with ABC 7 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Have a good weekend. Thanks for making time to speak with us.
BRANDT: Scott, stay safe. Thanks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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