Freezing rain and drizzle overnight coated streets and sidewalks with ice on Monday morning, canceling schools, closing or delaying the opening of businesses and government offices, and briefly shutting down highways until they could be treated.
Several vehicles and a semi-trailer slid off roads and highways, but no serious injuries were reported, according to Allen County Sheriff Bryan Murphy. Parts of U.S. 59 and eastbound U.S. 54 at Moran were closed briefly until crews with the Kansas Department of Transportation could treat the surface.
Classes were canceled Monday for schools in Iola, Humboldt and Moran and other area communities.
Allen, Neosho and Woodson county courthouses and/or district courts were closed, as was the Iola library. Iola’s radio stations 101.5 KIKS and 1370 KIOL had a complete list.
Many businesses posted on social media they were closed on Monday or would open late.
Southeast Kansas seemed to be hit especially hard by the ice storm. KDOT’s KanDrive website showed highways throughout the southeast part of the state were completely covered, with most of Allen County improved to “partially covered” by 11 a.m.
Most of the eastern half of the state was affected in some way.
Temperatures slowly inched above freezing on Monday afternoon, with more rain expected overnight into Tuesday. Conditions were expected to be more favorable, though, as temperatures are forecast to stay above freezing this week. Temperatures could hit a high of 49 degrees on Thursday and reach the mid-50s by next week.
The icy weather follows an arctic blast that sent temperatures plummeting below zero for five consecutive nights between Jan. 13 and 17. 
