Freezing rain is causing numerous accidents in Missouri, including one fatal wreck.
Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Al Nothum says a sport utility vehicle veered off of Interstate 55 near Festus, south of St. Louis, on Friday morning. The SUV struck a tree, killing the driver. No other information has been released, but Nothum says a slick roadway is the suspected cause.
Nothum says several accidents have been reported as a result of freezing rain that began falling in southern Missouri early Friday. The rain later moved into St. Louis, where more than 100 flights were cancelled at Lambert Airport because of ice.
Forecasters are predicting the worst ice storm in at least a decade in St. Louis, with a half-inch or more of accumulation.
Freezing rain also moved into Oklahoma and Kansas early Friday, with forecasters warning of ice accumulations across the region. Icy weather also is expected in parts of Illinois, Texas and Arkansas.
