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Photo by Foss Farrar click image to enlarge

By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer
reporter@arkcity.net

Expect hazardous road conditions and more sleet mixed with snow tonight and Friday, weather officials said today.

A mixture of freezing rain and sleet continued to fall this morning, the National Weather Service said in a hazardous weather outlook issued this morning.

Most of the precipitation will change over to light snow this evening, the NWS said. The snowfall may lead to some areas receiving 1 to 2 inches of accumulation by late tonight.

"Roadways are slick and hazardous. Be safe," said Bob Frazee, emergency management coordinator for Cowley County.

Sleet and freezing rain fell across the Cowley County area between 4 and 7 a.m. today producing one-half inch of sleet across the area, Frazee said. Winfield reported up to three inches of sleet.

Schools were canceled in the Ark City and Winfield districts today, authorities said. There will be no school Friday.

Games for Arkansas City High School are reset for tomorrow.

The forecast calls for some snow and rain on Saturday with little accumulation, Frazee said.

Street crews were called out at 6 a.m. and applied salt-sand to main arterial streets, said Gary Baugher, city public services superintendent. Later, they planned to work on parking lots and streets near the city's schools.

"We'll talk about what to do tonight when we meet at noon," Baugher said this morning. "We'll see how we're doing (with sleet accumulation)."

Ark City police reported one non-injury accident occurred within the city this morning.

Several minor accidents occurred within the county and city of Winfield, a Cowley County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman said. The sheriff's department had received more calls from people who got stuck.

"We have three inches on the ground; it's kind of like driving on sand," she said.

The NWS forecast for tonight: Snow and sleet likely. Cloudy, with a low around 24. North northwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Friday: A 30 percent chance of snow, mainly before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. North northwest wind around 10 mph. Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 25. North wind 5 to 8 mph becoming east.

Saturday: A chance of snow before noon, then a chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. East southeast wind between 6 and 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

Above: Downtown merchants Dawn Bowman, manager of Graves Drug, and Danny Thompson, owner of Picture This-Sprint, shovel sleet off the sidewalks in front of their stores this morning.