FORT SMITH -- The National Weather Service's ice storm warning for Sebastian County expired at noon today. Its forecast for the afternoon included a 20% chance of rain with a high temperature near 38 degrees Fahrenheit.
Friday is expected to be sunny with a high temperature near 46 degrees.
Kendall Beam with Sebastian County Emergency Management said contrary to what he anticipated beforehand, the county "dodged a bullet" by not getting much freezing precipitation at all Wednesday night. He said most of the county's rural and secondary roads were clear and passable for travel Thursday.
In terms of highways, the Arkansas Department of Transportation's IDrive Arkansas tool reported Arkansas 10, Arkansas 22, U.S. 64, and U.S. 71, which had been impacted by this week's inclement weather alongside Interstates 540 and 549, as being clear of ice and slush by Thursday afternoon.
The website is reporting Interstate 40 to the Bobby Hopper Tunnel and U.S. 62 are clear as of Thursday afternoon.
Philip Pevehouse, spokesman for the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office, said his department didn't have to respond to any weather-related vehicle accidents Thursday as of about 1:50 p.m.
Sebastian County's offices were open Thursday morning as well after being closed for the past three days due to the weather, according to Beam.
Thursday saw the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith open its campus for normal operations and classes after being closed since Monday, albeit at a later time of 10 a.m. The Fort Smith School District also announced it would resume on-site learning for students Thursday after three days of online learning.
However, the Greenwood School District announced via its Facebook page Wednesday it would continue online learning today due to many secondary and rural roads in the area being "unsafe for driving" at the time, along with concerns about the National Weather Service's ice storm warning.
All Crawford County schools had in-person classes Thursday, but Van Buren, Alma and Mountainburg had some changing bus routes due to icy roads.
Mountainburg also announced the rescheduling of several events including the Swirls and Twirls Dance, which will now be Feb. 24 instead of Friday.
Weather forecasts show Friday as being sunny with a high of 44 degrees, Saturday as partly cloudy with a high of 51 degrees and Sunday as warm and sunny with a high of 60 degrees. The beginning of next week is expected to be cloudy and rainy with highs in the 50s, but lows not expected to get below freezing.