5:57 p.m. update
School districts, colleges and universities across the state are closing Wednesday or delaying their start times, citing still-bad road conditions.
Temperatures remained below freezing all of Tuesday, and many roads still had slush, snow or ice on them by that evening.
Find the full list of Wednesday closings and delays here.
3:15 p.m. update
Roadways across the state were clearing up Tuesday afternoon, but below-freezing temperatures expected to linger until Thursday created the threat of the melted water refreezing, forecasters said.
By 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, most of Interstates 430, 40 and 30 were clear, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation's website. Slush and ice covered patches of the highways in the Little Rock metro area as well as in parts of Pulaski and Lonoke counties.
A stretch of Interstate 530 south of the capital city was partly covered in snow, according to the agency's highway map. Snow, slush and ice still covered most roadways in southeast Arkansas.
Despite the below-freezing temperatures Tuesday, "abundant sunshine" had melted some of the snow and ice on streets in the Little Rock area, according to the National Weather Service's North Little Rock office. In a tweet, the agency wrote: "As the sun goes down tonight, the meltwater will refreeze, resulting in patches of ice."
Overnight, the National Weather Service predicts temperatures at or near zero in north Arkansas and cold conditions in the southern and eastern parts of the state.
Temperatures will likely remain below freezing for most of the state through Wednesday, forecasters said, before conditions begin warming slowly starting Thursday.
Overall, temperatures in central and southern Arkansas are expected to climb into the 40s by the weekend, the service said. The warmer weather could cause thunderstorms Sunday as well as an increased chance of rain, according to meteorologists.
A wind chill advisory remains in effect for several northern Arkansas counties until 4 p.m. Tuesday, according to the service's latest statement.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
— Rachel Herzog
[SNOW PHOTOS: Submit your shots to be included in our online gallery]
11:30 a.m. update
Several inches of snow was reported in parts of Arkansas after a winter storm moved through the state, turning roads slick and prompting schools and businesses to close for the day.
At half a foot, Camden in southern Arkansas had the highest snow total, according to preliminary information from the National Weather Service. An area extending roughly from there to Pine Bluff to Brinkley saw at least 4 inches of snow while Hot Springs, Little Rock and Searcy all got 2 inches or less.
The storm caused problems across a wide swath of Arkansas, including multiple wrecks along Interstate 40 that prompted closures.
One section of I-40 in Lonoke County that was shut because of a wreck involving two 18-wheelers and a snow plow reopened about 10:15 a.m. But Arkansas Department of Transportation spokesman Danny Straessle said drivers can expect traffic to be slow to recover.
Straessle said the eastbound lanes of Interstate 440 were backed up to I-40 late Tuesday morning. The agency's crews plan to plow the ice and slush off the road road once cars get moving again, he added.
Multiple other accidents have been reported in the westbound lanes of I-40 near mile marker 192 in Prairie County, but those weren't causing significant traffic backups, Straessle said. It wasn't immediately clear if anyone was hurt in any of the wrecks.
Straessle advised people not to take U.S. 70 to avoid the interstates because it has open ditches on both sides of the roadway.
The highways through Lonoke and its neighboring counties still need to be cleared of some ice and snow, he added.
[INTERACTIVE: Explore the snow in downtown Little Rock in these 360-degree photos]
Other roadways in the Little Rock metro are wet but in good shape, including Interstates 30 and 630, Straessle said. Interstate 430 was still being worked on late Tuesday morning.
"The hardest part for most folks will be getting out of their neighborhoods," Straessle said.
Workers are facing more challenges in the southern third of the state due to the heavier snowfall there, he said, but crews aim to clear those roads before sunset.
A wind chill advisory is in effect for much of the state Tuesday. The weather service said the wind chill in parts of northern Arkansas dropped well below zero, while central and southern Arkansas experienced wind chills in the single digits or teens.
— Rachel Herzog
10:20 a.m. update
The National Weather Service in Little Rock has canceled its winter storm warning for much of central and southern Arkansas, but a wind chill advisory remains in effect until noon for a large portion of the state.
A winter storm warning remains active for the southwestern part of the state.
Interstate 40, meanwhile, has reopened after a wreck involving two jackknifed 18-wheelers and a snow plow blocked it for some time in Lonoke County, Arkansas Department of Transportation spokesman Danny Straessle said.
Straessle said the accident was challenging to clean up, causing traffic to back up all the way to the Little Rock metro area around Interstate 440.
The Lonoke County crash has been the only major accident, Straessle said, though there were reports of cars sliding off the roadway and into ditches. In west Little Rock along south Bowman Road, some cars had trouble moving through the snow-covered roadway.
Near the 192 mile marker in Prairie County, westbound I-40 was closed while crews removed a tractor-trailer that ran off the highway and into the median. It remained shut at 10:20 a.m.
Straessle noted that there may be an increase in accidents throughout the day as people leave their homes. He recommended residents stay in after sundown due to the likelihood of refreezing, which causes black ice to form.
Most interstate roadways are in good shape due to the crews' preparations, Straessle said. Freeways are navigable if motorists drive slowly, he said.
— Rachel Herzog
8:30 a.m. update
The snow totals below are preliminary estimates reported to the National Weather Service:
Alexander in Pulaski County: 2 inches
Arkadelphia: 3 inches
Austin in Lonoke County: 1.7 inches
Avilla in Saline County: 1.6 inches
Benton: 1.5 inches
Blakemore in Lonoke County: 3 inches
Blue Springs in Garland County: 1 inch
Camden in Ouachita County: 6 inches
Fordyce: 4.3 inches
Garfield in Benton County: 2 inches
Gurdon in Clark County: 2.5 inches
Hamburg in Ashley County: 1 inch
Ico in Grant County: 4 inches
Jessieville in Garland County: 1.1 inches
Lonoke: 3.5 inches
Macon in Pulaski County: 1.5 inches
Mt. Ida in Montgomery County: 0.5 inches
Newport: 1.5 inches
Pine Bluff: 5 inches
Poyen in Grant County: 2 inches
Prattsville in Grant County: 2.5 inches
Redfield in Jefferson County: 5 inches
Rison in Cleveland County: 2.5
Roe in Monroe County: 4 inches
Rogers: 1 inch
Searcy: 1.5 inches
Watson Chapel in Jefferson County: 4 inches
7:10 a.m. update
A winter storm warning remains in effect for much of southern Arkansas as snow continues to fall there, and a wind chill advisory covers most of the state because of temperatures that feel as low as 0 degrees in places, the National Weather Service said.
Slick conditions, meanwhile, were reported over a broad swath of Arkansas. An icy stretch of Interstate 40 in Lonoke County was closed after multiple 18-wheeler wrecks, the Department of Transportation reported.
Schools across much of the Arkansas called off class for the day and the state told non-essential workers to stay home after a wintry blast dropped several inches of snow in places.
In Little Rock, about an inch of snow was reported. But it was enough to turn the roads slick in sub-freezing overnight temperatures.
The winter storm warning for southern and part of eastern Arkansas continues through noon with possible additional accumulations of about an inch, the weather service said.
"Very cold conditions will prevail across the state today," the agency said in a statement. "Wind chill values will range from 0 to 10 during the morning hours, and from 5 to 15 during the afternoon."
Lows overnight Tuesday into Wednesday will fall to near 0 in Northwest Arkansas to about 10 in southern Arkansas, the weather service added, noting any snow that melts "will quickly refreeze after sunset." And below freezing temperatures are expected for much of Arkansas on Wednesday.
At 7 a.m., the Department of Transportation's online road conditions map showed mostly snow but some ice on highways across the southeast half of the state. Some icy highways were also reported in northern Arkansas.
Eastbound I-40 was closed just west of Lonoke between mile markers 164 and 175 because of at least three wrecks involving trucks. It wasn't immediately known if anyone was hurt.
Westbound Interstate 30 was closed earlier Tuesday in Clark County, but it reopened before 7 a.m.
— Gavin Lesnick
5 a.m. update
A winter storm dropped snow across a large swath of Arkansas, making roads slick and prompting dozens of school systems to call off class for the day.
The highest totals were reported in southeast Arkansas, and forecasters said light snow would continue there through midday. Only flurries were expected northwest of a line roughly from Sparkman to Stuttgart, the National Weather Service said.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation reported snow, ice patches or slush on most major highways in the southeast half of the state, including in the Little Rock metro area. Shortly before 5 a.m., a wreck involving a 18-wheeler was reported to have closed westbound Interstate 30 at the Clark County-Nevada County line.
Arkansas closed state offices for non-essential workers and dozens of school districts around the state called off class, including the Little Rock School District, which announced its decision shortly before 4:30 a.m. North Little Rock, Pulaski County and many other districts around the state decided on Monday night to cancel on Tuesday.
At least an inch of snow was reported in the Little Rock metro area while 1.5 inches was reported in Searcy, 3.5 inches in Lonoke, 2.5 inches near Sheridan and 3.5 inches to 4 inches in the Fordyce area.
Parts of southeast Arkansas may see 1 to 3 more inches of snow through midday, the weather service noted. As of 5 a.m., a winter storm warning remained in effect for parts of south and eastern Arkansas.
A wind chill advisory was also in effect for much of Arkansas. The weather service said "bitterly cold wind chill values" of 10 to 15 degrees below zero are likely in northern Arkansas while values as cold as 5 degrees below zero are possible in central and southwest regions.
Check back for updates and read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
— Gavin Lesnick
The Associated Press contributed to this story.