Michelangelo Buonarroti The Creation of Adam painting

The storm caused Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating to declare his state a disaster area on Wednesday. Arkansas, still recovering from a fierce ice storm two weeks ago, appeared hardest hit, with highways closed around the state and 300,000 people left without power. In western Arkansas, newspaper offices closed down for the first time in their history and the U.S. Postal Service suspended mail delivery.The devastation was so widespread that Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee dispatched National Guard troops in all-terrain Humvees to search for people stuck in frozen buildings and disabled vehicles. Brigades of chainsaw-wielding civilians cleared trees from streets and houses, while displaced people headed for makeshift shelters.