More than a day after winter weather rolled into Northwest Arkansas, streets and highways remained slick and saw several crashes, although there were no major injuries reported.
Several inches of snowfall blanketed the area Thursday, with Pea Ridge residents seeing 12 inches and seven inches falling in Fayetteville. As snow plows made their way around and vehicles trudged through the sludge Friday, much of the snow compacted down, allowing commuters on the interstate to raise their speeds to around 45 miles per hour.
But as the sun fell Friday night and the temperatures dropped, the roadways became even more slippery heading into the weekend.
A Ryder semi tractor-trailer jack-knifed just off of Highway 71B in Springdale while making a delivery. No one was injured in that incident, though. There were also no injuries in a roof collapse at a Benton County convenience store.
Traffic along the interstate stayed well below the 65-miles-per-hour speed limit, with some vehicles sliding off of the road, although there were no reports of major injuries due to weather in the area.
Surface streets in Northwest Arkansas cities were also slick, with several vehicles spinning out or sliding down hills backward, unable to make it to the top.
Drivers who spoke with 5NEWS on Friday night said they were traveling slow and steady to avoid similar incidents.
Reporter Austin Reed was camped near Interstate 540 on Friday night with a live report on the conditions. See that report in the video above, which also includes the details on the roof collapse and a 10-vehicle wreck that temporarily blocked entrance into Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.
5NEWS reporter Katelynn Zoellner reported live from Highway 71B in Springdale, with details on the semi jack-knife and problems some vehicles had with the slick road conditions. See that report below.
