Traffic Jams Caused By Ice in Memphis, Eastern Arkansas Strand Thousands Along I-40 and I-55

After Winter Storm Titan rolled through the mid-South, dumping large amounts of freezing rain and sleet, roads became so slippery along the Arkansas-Tennesse line that drivers were trapped along Interstates 55 and 40 near Memphis. Some motorists were even stranded overnight and into Tuesday on icy eastern Arkansas interstates near West Memphis, and the state was bringing fuel to people stuck so long that they ran out of gas, slowing efforts to make the roads passable.  "Northeast Arkansas saw up to 3/4 of an inch of freezing rain and up to 6 inches of sleet from Winter Storm Titan," said weather.com meteorologist Nick Wiltgen. "Temperatures have been well below freezing ever since, so the ice has stayed on the ground."  In Arkansas, traffic was stalled Tuesday on I-55 southbound between Blytheville and West Memphis and ice created snarls over a 40-mile stretch of I-40 between Forrest City and the Mississippi River. Those areas had the most extreme tie-ups, but there were trouble spots scattered across almost the entire state.



http://www.weather.com/news/commuter-forecast/memphis-traffic-jam-winter-storm-titan-20140304