FORT WORTH, Texas — Heavy rain and icy conditions are likely to stick around through most of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in parts of the central U.S. due to a slow-moving, complex weather system that’s being blamed for at least three flash-flooding deaths.

“There’s a pretty substantial shield of rain extending from parts of Texas across a lot of Oklahoma and into the mid-Mississippi Valley,” said John Hart, a meteorologist with the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

The National Weather Service issued ice storm warnings in the Texas Panhandle and central Oklahoma that will remain in effect through noon Saturday, with up to a quarter or half-inch of ice expected to accumulate.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation spokesman Cody Boyd said road crews had been applying salt and sand since Thursday night, noting that roads there were slick and hazardous.

“It is really a weather event with a lot of different aspects,” Boyd said Friday. “We definitely understand that people travel to see family and friends (for Thanksgiving), and have to travel back home. If people have to travel … plan plenty of extra travel time and check conditions before they head out.”