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At least 10 people have now died from storm-related crashes in Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma, and two law enforcement officers have been seriously injured since Monday, The Associated Press reported. The deaths include a triple fatality Tuesday near Brownfield, about 40 miles southwest of Lubbock. A vehicle carrying four passengers lost traction while traveling east on U.S. Highway 380 and started to skid, authorities said. The vehicle crossed the median into the westbound lane and rolled into a ditch, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. The fourth passenger was injured in the crash. Other deaths reported include:
• Authorities said a person was killed in Austin in a pileup on Tuesday before sunrise.
• In Oklahoma, a driver died in a crash Thursday morning on Highway 33 in Payne County, and a semi-truck driver was killed and a second person seriously injured in a separate crash that occurred on Interstate 40 in Custer County in western Oklahoma, authorities confirmed to KOCO-TV.
• A 45-year-old man died Monday night after his SUV slid into a highway guardrail in Arlington near Dallas and rolled into an embankment, according to the AP.
• A 49-year-old woman was killed Tuesday night after her vehicle struck a tree on Route 277 in Eldorado, about 40 miles south of San Angelo in south-central Texas.
• An 18-year-old died in a rollover crash in Wolfforth, outside of Lubbock.
• In Arkansas, the state Department of Public Safety said a flatbed truck hauling equipment lost control and flipped on Guyll Ridge Road in Garfield, Benton County, killing the 60-year-old driver Monday morning.
Icicles form on a rail on an overhead pass railing as drivers make their way north on US 75, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Also, a Travis County sheriff’s deputy was struck and pinned under an 18-wheeler while he had stopped to assist the driver of another tractor trailer that had slid off an icy highway Tuesday, the county Sheriff’s Office told AP. The deputy is expected to survive, authorities said. And on Monday, state Trooper Curtis Putz was struck by a vehicle while responding to a crash on Interstate 45 south at Exit 220 near Corsicana in Navarro County, about 50 miles south of Dallas.The driver of the vehicle lost control on a slick highway and the trooperbecame pinned between the police vehicle and a guardrail, authorities said. Steven C. McCraw, head of the state Department of Public Safety, said the driver was traveling “too fast for conditions.” McCraw said it took the ambulance about an hour and a half to get to the hospital due to the deteriorating road conditions.
Texas faces more than 410,000 power outages this morning as AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures hover between the low 20s and the freezing mark across central and northern parts of the state enduring the ice storm. Other states experiencing significant power outages, according to PowerOutage.US, include:
•Arkansas: ~60,000
•Mississippi: ~21,000
• Mississippi: ~21,000
Downed power lines and trees are leading to the high volume of outages. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas urged customers experiencing outages to contact local providers to report the issues. Watch the compilation video below to see — and hear — large tree branches cracking under the weight of ice in Texas.
Multiple rounds of ice storms led to widespread tree damage across the Lone Star State on Feb. 1, leading many people to pick up their phones and record as limbs and branches broke under pressure.
An Oklahoma Highway Patrol dashcam caught the moment a truck crashed on Interstate 40 near Gore, Oklahoma, on Jan. 31.
Extreme meteorologist Reed Timmer has spent the past several days tracking the ice storm in Texas. On Thursday morning Timmer was in downtown Dallas when shared an update on Twitter that showed planes flying into Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and trees and roads still covered in ice. Timmer noted that roads had begun to melt in the area, but he had also seen numerous accidents Thursday morning. Dallas Fort Worth Airport said on Twitter that even though roads were improving in the area, customers should allow extra time when traveling to the airport.
Dallas Love Field Airport was open on Thursday as crews continued to treat the airfield and pedestrian walkways. Airport officials also reminded travelers to check the status of their respective flights and to drive safely while on the roads to and from the airport. The airport also shared a post recognizing their hardworking employees.
Icy conditions have plagued much of Texas, including Dallas, since Monday as multiple storms have journeyed across the southern Plains. While the weather is expected to improve later on Thursday, travel conditions are still dangerous, according to AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell. As he drove around the city Thursday morning before the sun rose, Wadell cautioned that he was finding plenty of slick spots and icy overpasses.
According to AccuWeather meteorologists, this latest storm has shifted east as of Thursday morning. Freezing rain and sleet were falling across southern Arkansas and northeastern Texas, but rising temperatures and drier air are expected to bring the event to an end by Thursday afternoon.
As a winter storm continues to bring ice and sleet to the Southern states, many schools have canceled classes on Thursday. In Texas, the Dallas Independent School District and Austin Independent School District are among two of the several schools that will be closed on Thursday. In Arkansas, schools, along with doctor offices and numerous businesses have closed for the day. Classes were also canceled for schools in Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday, according to The Associated Press.
The weight of ice on trees and power lines caused power outages to rise overnight. As of 5 a.m. CST, more than 400,000 customers across four states are in the dark. The majority of the outages were in Texas, with over 390,000 without power. According to PowerOutage.US, over 165,000 of the outages were in Travis County. This county is the home to the city of Austin. Freezing rain is continuing to fall in Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi this morning, so the power outage number may rise further before crews have a chance to restore electricity.
Although New York City finally received its first measurable snow of the season on Wednesday, Feb. 1, only 0.4 of an inch fell. On Tuesday, Jan. 31 alone, Dallas received 1.3 inches of sleet. For official record-keeping, snow and sleet are both counted as snow. Other cities across the South had snow earlier in the winter, and several locations have had more snow/sleet than the Big Apple.
Air travel problems in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have already postponed a National Basketball Association game Wednesday, and now have caused troubles for another team. According to team sources, the New Orleans Pelicans will be staying in Denver Wednesday night after the squad’s game against the Denver Nuggets. The Pelicans were initially scheduled to fly to Dallas after the game for a Thursday matchup with the Dallas Mavericks, but will not be able to make the trip until game day. “[The] plan is for the team to fly into Dallas tomorrow, play the game and then head back home to New Orleans,” ESPN NBA reporter Andrew Lopez said on Twitter, adding “the hope is” that better conditions Thursday will allow for safe travel to Dallas. This week’s ice storm already caused a postponement of a matchup between the Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards Wednesday, due to travel issues getting out of Dallas faced by the Pistons squad.
This week’s ice storm has been deadly, along with leaving hundreds of accidents and hundreds of thousands of power outages in its wake. Roads have been treacherous to navigate, with multiple semi-trucks seen crashed off the side of major roadways in Texas and Colorado. Besides the crashes, traffic came to a standstill in multiple hubs, such as the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. Photos from the travel chaos illustrate just how destructive the frozen precipitation became.
In the Texas capital city of Austin, residents weren’t the only ones dealing with the icy conditions Wednesday, as one of the area’s furry friends was in need of saving. The Austin Police Department shared a picture Wednesday afternoon of an officer who found a kitten “cold and soaking wet” in southeast Austin, picking up the kitten out of the storm and into his car. The kitten is “now warm and safe” because of the officer’s actions, the department noted. Other animals were having problems staying warm in Austin, including ones at the Austin Pets Alive! shelter, which lost power during the storm. The shelter has backup generators for critical parts of the facility, but has some enclosures exposed to the elements, leading employees with the shelter to ask residents to come forward and offer to foster if possible.
With a coating of ice prevalent across Texas, residents of the Lone Star State have taken part in the rare opportunity for some winter activities. In the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, multiple citizens took out their sleds for some sliding across the ice, while others grabbed their skates for some exercise in the cold conditions. In the city of Granbury, 70 miles southwest of downtown Dallas, two residents got even more ambitious, breaking out their skates for an impromptu session of hockey.
Although the icy weather gripping Texas is dangerous for travel, some people in the Lone Star State grabbed their sleds, skates and hockey sticks and took to the streets on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
Though many in Texas have been struggling with a thick layer of ice coating the ground, one man outside of Dallas decided to have some unique fun with the severe conditions. In Princeton, Texas, roughly 45 miles northeast of downtown Dallas, a man was able to rev up his airboat, taking the vehicle for a ride across the ice. Passing other vehicles on the road, the airboat ride led to some laughs from videographer Lee Taggart, who watched the airboat spin around on the frosty ground.
Ice fell on parts of Texas causing hazardous driving conditions. One man in Princeton, Texas, decided to take his airboat for a spin on the icy road.
One of the most tedious challenges drivers can face during the winter months is removing ice from their car’s windshield on frosty mornings or after an ice storm. Several dangers arise when you can’t see adequately out of your windshield when driving. At least 11 states have laws that mandate the removal of snow and ice before heading out on the roadways. Michael Calkins, manager of technical services at AAA, provided AccuWeather with numerous tips in case you find your windshield frozen with ice and snow during the winter.
• Take proactive measures to reduce the likelihood of having to deice your car. Park in a garage, if possible. Cover the windshield with a trap, large town or old sheet folded a few times. Cloth covers can be pre-soaked in a saltwater solution (1 tbsp. of salt to 1 quart of water) to aid in ice prevention.
• Make sure your car is prepared with adequate winter equipment such as an ice scrapper, snow brush, traction aids, snow shovel and warm clothing.
• Ensure the windshield washer reservoir is filled with a winter fluid or “de-icer” fluid that will not freeze in colder weather and can aid in ice removal.
• If you come out to a windshield covered in snow or ice, the first step is to turn the heater on and set it to defrost. Allow the airflow to circulate and set the temperature to the maximum setting.
• Apply a commercial glass deicer spray to the windshield.
• Use a plastic scraper, soft bristle brush or squeegee to remove the ice as it melts.
• Do not use any type of metal scraper. This can scratch and gouge the glass on vehicles
• Do not use hot water to remove the ice. Hot water can crack the glass by creating thermal shock.
One of the country’s largest hubs for cargo transportation has been fighting off the ice storms thanks to an “efficient” new deicing facility. Memphis International Airport has remained open throughout the storms, and has been using its new facility that opened in late November to make sure any continuing precipitation melts on planes carrying both people and cargo. “We’ve got some of the most dedicated team members that are passionate about what they do, they’ve been working around the clock … before the winter weather even arrived Monday morning, and we will see it through until the end,” VP of Operations/COO of Memphis International Airport Terry Blue told AccuWeather Prime.
The facility, which cost more than $300 million, is able to house up to 12 Boeing 747 planes at once. The deicing process length depends on the size of the aircraft and conditions outside, and can take anywhere from 5-30 minutes to complete. Though Blue noted snow only occurs a few days per year, about 30 days have conditions necessary for deicing. “Literally, time is money, and we want to be as efficient as possible,” Blue said.
When winter weather strikes, the Memphis International Airport is able to keep flights moving with incredible speed. Find out why.
The death toll in Texas has rose to at least 7 since Monday, after a 49-year-old woman was killed after her vehicle struck a tree in Eldorado, about 40 miles south of San Angelo in the south-central portion of the state. According to Sanangelolive.com, Texas Department of Safety (DPS) troopers were dispatched to U.S. 277 around 9:40 p.m. Tuesday night on a report of a major crash. When troopers arrived, they discovered 49-year-old Sherry Lynn Taylor of Eldorado inside a 1997 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 that struck a tree. Taylor was pronounced dead on the scene. A preliminary investigation by the DPS shows that poor driving conditions contributed to the crash while the truck was traveling northbound on U.S. 277. The death toll in Texas also includes a student that died in a rollover crash in Wolfforth, outside of Lubbock, as well as accident-related deaths near Austin, Arlington and Brownfield.
Severe winter weather from this week has wrecked roads in Texas and other southern states, as evidenced by photos of delays and travel headaches. Besides the havoc on the roads, other intense weather photos have been released, including a tree falling in a front yard and ice accumulating on power lines.
Air travel continues to be a nightmare Wednesday, including over 1,200 canceled flights in and out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The airport has canceled 651 departing flights and another 678 arrivals through late Wednesday afternoon, according to FlightAware.. The other major airport in the area, Dallas Love Field, reported 197 canceled departures and 189 canceled arrivals Wednesday. Roughly 215 miles south in the Texas capital city of Austin, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport canceled 179 departures and 158 arrivals Wednesday. Another major hub airport, Denver International, reported 194 flight delays.
The capital city of Austin, Texas, has been deeply impacted by this week’s ice storm, knocking out power to more than 150,000 residents of Travis County. Among the power outages was a brief loss of service at St. David’s North Austin Medical Center, with non-emergency procedures having to be rescheduled. Medical center officials stated that the hospital had generators working “to provide an alternative source of power,” and that “the safety of our patients was not compromised at any time.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson with Austin Water said that 20 lift facilities and 11 pump stations were without power as of Wednesday afternoon, with several lifts and pump stations running on generators. Austin Energy, which provides power to the majority of the area, is currently prioritizing facilities that are critical to maintaining water storage. The storm has shut down activities in Austin, including the Texas Senate, which has canceled budget hearings that were set for Thursday.
A significant icing event in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area has continued into Wednesday afternoon, with Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer reporting from the icy Texas hub. Timmer noted that this third round of frozen precipitation is “pure freezing rain,” after Tuesday’s round was predominantly sleet. The freezing rain in the area is in excess of a quarter-inch, accumulating on power lines and causing strain on trees. Timmer also shared a video of a truck sliding backwards on ice while in drive, showcasing the struggles of motorists in the area.
“Those elevated bridges and overpasses are certainly going to ice over and be very treacherous,” Timmer said. “It’s even dangerous to walk out here, if you do have to go out on foot, be very careful, because that’s how serious injury happens.” As of 12:50 p.m. CST Wednesday, the highest freezing rain reports in Texas have come from Fischer in Comal County (0.75 inches) and in Llano County west-southwest of Kingsland (0.67 inches).
Multiple rounds of freezing rain in Little Rock, Arkansas, has left a thin layer of ice on everything from trash cans to crosswalk signs. AccuWeather National Reporter Emmy Victor was live in the capital city Wednesday, describing how life has been disrupted for many due to school and business closures, as well as power outages, accidents and flight cancellations. “I was supposed to go home yesterday but my flight was canceled, so I am leaving Thursday … I’m really tired, I just want to go home, I just want to see my family,” Brazil resident Maria Gomez told Victor.
A third round of freezing rain is forecasted before conditions begin to return to normal. The area should begin thawing out on Friday, as temperatures will climb back into the 40s, before being in the 60s by the end of the weekend.
Even after a layer of freezing rain has lined areas within the state, AccuWeather’s Emmy Victor reports on more rain on the way.
Power outages throughout Texas have continued to grow throughout Wednesday after a sharp spike in the morning hours. As of 2:35 p.m. CST, over 320,000 tracked customers are without power in the Lone Star State, according to PowerOutage.US. The highest concentration of outages remains in Travis County, home to the capital city of Austin, where 168,368 customers were without power Wednesday afternoon. The number of outages accounts for over 25% of all tracked customers. A neighbor to Travis County, Williamson County, accounts for over 31,000 outages. The highest percentage of customers without power in Texas is on the western border in Jeff Davis County, with 1,791 of the 4,177 tracked customers out (42.88%).
AUSTIN, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 01: Frozen power lines are seen hanging near a sidewalk on February 01, 2023 in Austin, Texas. A winter storm is sweeping across portions of Texas, causing massive power outages and disruptions of highways and roads. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer shuffled across a parking lot in downtown Dallas on Wednesday, the asphalt coated in a layer of ice. “[It is] incredibly dangerous not only to drive, but even to walk out here, and that’s why you’ve got to be incredibly careful when you’re walking around today. It is as slippery as it gets,” Timmer said. Despite the dangerous driving conditions, a few vehicles still traveled over the nearby bridges and overpasses. As precipitation fell on Wednesday, the droplets didn’t have time to freeze into sleet pellets, instead freezing on impact. “Surface temperatures are near 30 degrees here in Dallas,” Timmer said. “Just above the ground it’s above freezing, and that’s why liquid water is freezing.” Dallas was under an ice storm warning on Wednesday, which is expected to expire on Thursday morning.
Storm chaser Reed Timmer reports dangerous, icy roads and highways in Dallas, Texas, that formed from freezing rain on Feb. 1.
New details have emerged about an incident that left a sheriff’s deputy in Travis County, Texas, with serious injuries. According to a news release from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, at 8:46 a.m. Tuesday, the unnamed deputy began to assist the driver of an 18-wheeler that had gone off the roadway and was disabled on State Highway 130 northbound. While assisting, another 18-wheeler slid on the icy roadway, striking the deputy and pinning him beneath one of that truck's tractor tires. Multiple agencies worked to free the deputy, eventually doing so roughly an hour later before transporting him to a local hospital. The deputy underwent surgery at the hospital, and is expected to make a full recovery, with the sheriff’s office saying he is “alert and talking with his family.” “I want to offer my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who responded and assisted this deputy in his time of dire need,” Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez said. “Both his biological and TCSO family are relieved and thankful that he’s alive.”
Round after round of ice has created travel chaos in central and southern portions of the U.S., and some major eastern cities finally picked up their first measurable snowfall of the season this week. As millions of people face wintry weather, AccuWeather forecasters issued the 2023 U.S. spring forecast today. Paul Pastelok, AccuWeather’s lead long-range forecaster, and his team are predicting more wintry weather for parts of the country even after spring begins. Forecasters also say the polar vortex will be on the move again. Read the full forecast, which includes insights into all of that and the severe weather season ahead.
Extended cold in some regions, with severe weather and drought in others. Take a look at how a weakening La Nina will affect where you live this spring.
Due to travel issues getting out of the Dallas area, the Detroit Pistons have been unable to fly home in time to host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. As a result, the NBA has postponed the matchup, ESPN reported. The Pistons were originally planning to fly back to Michigan after Monday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks but now won’t be able to depart until Thursday, according to ESPN. A date for the rescheduled matchup between the Pistons and Wizards will be announced later by the NBA. The league is also working with the New Orleans Pelicans, who are slated to fly into Dallas Wednesday night from Denver for a Thursday game against the Mavericks.
At least six people have died while driving on the ice-slicked roads in Texas since Monday, The Associated Press reported. This includes a triple fatality crash on Tuesday near Brownfield, which sits about 40 miles southwest of Lubbock. The vehicle had lost traction while traveling eastbound on U.S. Highway 380 and started to skid. It crossed over the median into the westbound lane and rolled into a ditch, according to Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. A fourth passenger in the car was injured in the crash. Authorities said another person was killed in Austin in a pileup on Tuesday before sunrise, and a 45-year-old man died Monday night after his SUV slid into a highway guardrail near Dallas and rolled into an embankment, according to the AP.
Also, two Texas law enforcement officers were seriously injured while responding to storm-related crashes: A Travis County sheriff’s deputy who stopped to help the driver of a tractor-trailer that slid off an icy highway Tuesday was struck by a second truck that pinned him beneath one of its tires, the county Sheriff’s Office told AP. The deputy is expected to survive, authorities said. And on Monday, a state trooper was struck by a vehicle while responding to a crash in Navarro County. The driver of the vehicle lost control on a slick highway. Department of Public Safety Director Steven C. McCraw said the driver was traveling “too fast for conditions.”
After suspending operations in Dallas on Tuesday, citing the icy driving conditions, DoorDash has suspended all operations in Austin through Thursday morning. The food delivery service told KXAN-TV, a station affiliated with NBC, that its operations in the city will be suspended on Wednesday through 9 a.m. Thursday. Services are expected to resume on Thursday in Dallas as well. “This significant winter storm has created extremely hazardous travel conditions,” DoorDash spokesperson Julian Crowley told Fox 4 News. “To help keep our community safe, DoorDash is proactively activating its Severe Weather Protocol and suspending operations in the Dallas and Fort Worth areas.”
The funeral for Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, was delayed amid the winter storm that was affecting southern states on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. The service was delayed until 1 p.m. CST as the city remains under an ice storm warning that is expected to end on Thursday morning. Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was beaten by Memphis police officers during a traffic stop on Jan. 7. Following his arrest, he was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where he died on Jan. 10. Five Black police officers involved in the violent arrest were fired and each face several charges, including second-degree murder along with aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping. Three fire department workers who responded to the scene were also fired. Two additional police officers — Preston Hemphill, who is white and allegedly deployed his taser during the confrontation, and an unidentified officer — were relieved of duty but are currently not facing charges, authorities said Monday.
Nichols was the father of a 4-year-old son, an avid skateboarder and photographer from Sacramento, California. “This man walked into a room, and everyone loved him,” Angelina Paxton, a friend of Nichols who had traveled to Memphis for the service, told the AP.
Terry Lawrence, of Memphis, Tenn., spreads ice-melting salt around Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church where a funeral service for Tyre Nichols will be held after a delay due to weather on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. Nichols was beaten by Memphis police officers, and later died from his injuries. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Temperatures in Texas have dropped to the point that they are neck-and-neck with some readings from Alaska, and it may actually feel colder in parts of the southern state. Dallas had an AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature reading and an actual temperature of 28 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday morning. Austin saw a significant difference in temperature and RealFeel readings, the mercury lingering around 32 degrees while temperatures felt more like they were in the teens.
Meanwhile, Anchorage, Alaska, had a RealFeel of 31 degrees and an actual temperature of 26 degrees. The temperatures in Juneau, Alaska, are similar, with a RealFeel of 30 degrees. Sitka, Alaska, which sits southeast of Juneau, is warmer than Dallas with an actual temperature of 42 degrees and a RealFeel of 40.
RealFeel temperatures for Dallas and Anchorage as of 10 a.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.
Power outages continue to climb across Texas on Wednesday morning. More than 250,000 customers were without power as of 8:30 a.m. CST, according to PowerOutage.US. Since 5 a.m. CST, the number of outages in the Lone Star State has more than doubled. Several videos were posted to Twitter Wednesday morning showing flashes illuminating the sky across Austin, Texas, as transformers exploded across the city. Quickly after the transformer lit up the sky with hues of blue, purple and red, streetlights and houselights went dark. In Travis County, home of Austin, roughly 126,000 customers in the Austin area alone were without power.
The multiday storm that began to unfold across Texas and Arkansas on Monday will continue across parts of the southern U.S. through Wednesday. A series of storms paired with enough cold air and moisture to produce a swath of icy conditions will stretch from the Rio Grande into parts of the Tennessee Valley through Thursday.
This next round of the storm could set the stage for the heaviest round of freezing rain, with the highest concern for icing in central and northern Texas. Storms were already generating ice across Texas, southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana on Wednesday morning. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is bracing for 0.25 to 0.50 of an inch of ice, according to AccuWeather forecasters. At these accumulation totals, it’s possible for tree limbs to break. Some locations near Dallas southward to just north of San Antonio and east of San Angelo, Texas, may pick up a glaze of 0.50 and 0.75 of an inch, which may not only bring widespread tree damage, but also power outages.
Not many drivers were on the roadways on Wednesday morning in Fort Worth, Texas. A video shared by AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell showed roadways blanketed with a sheet of ice in the city. A winter storm on Tuesday created an icy mess in across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and extreme meteorologist Reed Timmer shared a video late Tuesday evening of ice-covered roads in Dallas. “Be careful even walking on this ice,” Timmer said. “Bad injury can result from falls.”
Nearly 1,900 flights have been canceled across the country on Wednesday morning as a winter storm continues to bring icy weather to Texas, according to FlightAware. More than half of the country’s canceled flights came from flights arriving and departing Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Nearly 600 arriving and 600 departing flights at DFW were canceled before 8 a.m. EST.
“DFW Airport continues to mitigate the impacts of the current winter weather in the area. We remind customers to check with their airline for their flight status before coming to the airport,” DFW Airport wrote on Twitter. “All traveling to DFW Airport should consider road conditions and allow extra time to travel to the airport. Please approach entry & departure plazas with extra caution.”
Dallas Love Field Airport has canceled more than 150 departing flights, and more than 140 arriving flights as of Wednesday. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Nashville International Airport are both experiencing major cancellations on Wednesday morning.
Sleet and freezing rain will continue in the south-central states today. The accumulation of ice on trees and power lines has left thousands of customers in the dark. As of 5 a.m. CST, more than 100,000 customers are without power, according to PowerOutage.US. The highest percentage of customers in the dark is in Red River County, where nearly 20% are without power.
Residents of Texas are preparing for more ice on Wednesday, after a travel nightmare Tuesday resulted in hundreds of car crashes. Drivers lost control on slick bridges and overpasses, including truck drivers near Terrell, just east of Dallas. “You can hit a slick spot at any given time, or your traction, you lose traction, that’s when you go sliding and you panic,” Dallas resident Anthony Jackson told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell. “When they panic, they hit their breaks, that makes them slide even more.”
Jackson added that he “loves” the winter weather, but knows drivers in the region don’t deal with wintry conditions much, and tells them that they should stay off the roads if possible. Into Wednesday, Texas will be part of a 1,000-mile-long area where more ice is possible, also including parts of the Tennessee and Ohio valleys.
Freezing rain and sleet created an icy mess in North Texas on Jan. 31; officials are now preparing for more icing issues on Feb. 1.
Wintry weather expanded well beyond the southern Plains Tuesday, causing travel havoc in West Virginia, including injuries to a pregnant woman in Kanawha County. Part of the weather threat in the state was falling trees, with a large tree falling on a passing vehicle with a pregnant woman inside on the southern end of the state, WHCS TV reported. Local deputies said the pregnant woman’s injuries were “non-life threatening.” Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper was frustrated by the incident, as the county notified the state’s Department of Transportation that the area was a problem spot for overhanging trees, urging the agency to trim them. “I’m grateful that this young woman wasn’t killed and her baby, but I’m angry that this situation continues,” Carper said. Accidents were reported in several West Virginia counties Tuesday due in part to a mix of freezing rain, sleet, slush, ice and snow. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for portions of the state through 10 a.m. Wednesday.
This week’s icy weather likely doesn’t have many people thinking of plants and gardens, but a famous Dallas location is keeping its plants in top condition throughout the storm. At the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, a total of 500,000 spring bulbs were stuck under sleet and freezing rain Tuesday, but garden officials state “they are fine as they need the cold weather.” The garden recently also planted about 350,000 tulip bulbs, which are expected to blossom in advance of the annual Dallas Blooms Festival on Feb. 25.
People take pictures of a sculpture at Dallas Arboretum in Dallas, Texas, the United States, on Aug. 5, 2021. A collection of more than 100 modern Zimbabwean stone sculptures are exhibited here from May 1 to Aug. 8. (Photo by Dan Tian/Xinhua via Getty Images)
The winter storm that continued to wreak havoc on Tuesday not only brought freezing rain, but also heavy sleet. Topping the list was Mountain Home, Arkansas, with an incredible 1.8 inches of sleet. Other locations in Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois came in with well over an inch of sleet. AccuWeather forecasters say that the sleet and freezing rain will continue into Wednesday and even Thursday.
Traffic accidents on slippery roads can often result in power outages, making it difficult to stay warm in cold weather. Here are a few tips to follow if the power goes out during a winter storm:
• Keep all doors to the outside closed, and use towels to block drafts from windows and door cracks
• Insulate windows with black blankets or place blanket on the floor where the sun is directly shining
• Run a bathtub of hot water
• Turn faucets to a trickle to prevent pipes from freezing
• Don’t rely on gas stoves, charcoal grills or other open-flame heat sources as carbon monoxide gas may build up in your home. You should also be aware of fuel fumes while trying to make a hot meal.
• Place any generators outside, away from doors, windows and vents
• Limit non-emergency phone calls
Nearly 70% of the U.S. population lives in a region that receives more than 5 inches of snow annually, and an overwhelming number of the nation’s roadways traverse those snowy areas, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA). This means there is a high likelihood that your simple grocery store run or morning commute could be impacted by winter weather at least once. From snow to sleet to freezing rain or ice, winter weather yields numerous types of precipitation that all pose hazards and difficulties on the roadways. According to the FHA, more than 24% of weather-related vehicle crashes occur on snowy, slushy, or icy pavement, and 15% happen during snowfall or sleet. But equally dangerous is getting stuck for hours in a snowstorm in your vehicle. Many people don’t envision themselves in this situation, but the unthinkable does happen and being prepared and knowing what to do can help save you and your family’s lives. “The best thing you can do to protect yourself is to not travel if you can,” AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said, but if you do have to be out on the roads, being prepared is vital.
• Have an emergency car kit that includes a flashlight, gloves, a battery-powered radio, water, extra food and a blanket.
• If you cannot move, stay where you are and don’t abandon your vehicle. It is a good place to take shelter, especially during a winter storm.
• Notify the authorities with your cellphone and pinpoint your location with GPS either on your cellphone or with navigation services in your car. Make sure to tell the authorities relevant information, like how much gas your car has, how much food and water you have and your location.
• If you don’t have any cellphone service to contact the authorities, then it is important to stay put.
• Turning your car off periodically will help conserve precious gas and battery life and reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Make sure that your vehicle is visible to others. Using a piece of bright-colored fabric, road flares, or a traffic light behind your vehicle will all help to ensure your car is easily spotted on the road or highway.
Make sure if you have to leave your home, to have a fully charged cellphone as well as a portable cellphone charger for the car.
If you hear a loud boom and feel the ground shake during an extreme cold event, it likely wasn’t an earthquake. A cryoseism, also called an ice quake or a frost quake, occurs when water that trickled down into the ground during winter freezes and expands.This puts stress on the surrounding earth and reacts much like how an earthquake occurs as tectonic plates buckle or bend. These frost quakes can happen almost anywhere that experiences extremely cold weather, such as the Northeast, the Great Lakes region and Alaska.
After mainly impacting Texas during the morning and early afternoon hours Tuesday, the ice storm has moved slightly to the northeast as the day went along, seen hitting Arkansas and Tennessee in multiple videos. In Mountain Home, Arkansas, on the northern tip of the state near the Missouri border, one resident was able to pick up a sizable piece of ice from the front yard before smashing it on the ground:
In Lakeland, Tennessee, just east of Memphis, sleet was seen falling across a neighborhood in the late afternoon hours:
The sleet continued into the evening in Tennessee, as evidenced by this video from Lobelville, 75 miles southwest of Nashville:
School closings due to this week’s ice storm have extended into one of the South’s largest hubs. On Tuesday, Memphis-Shelby County Schools announced that schools will be closed Wednesday, pointing to “hazardous” weather conditions. Before and after-school activities are also postponed. District administration buildings will also close, and school-based personnel should not report to work. Accidents have been reported in the Memphis area Tuesday, including an early-morning crash off Interstate 55 that closed northbound lanes.
As reports continue to come from the Dallas-Fort Worth area regarding travel impacts, the amount of precipitation Tuesday has officially become record-breaking. The metro area set a new daily snowfall record Tuesday, with 1.3 inches of snow landing in the area. While much of the precipitation was sleet, for the purposes of National Weather Service record-keeping, sleet on the ground “is considered the same as snowfall.” The 1.3 inches of accumulation broke a daily record nearly 40 years old, last set in 1985 with 1.2 inches of snowfall.
Tuesday’s rounds of rain and ice hindered travel not only on the roads, but also in the air. Hundreds of flights were either canceled or delayed on Tuesday, the majority of which were at Dallas-Fort Worth International, according to FlightAware. At Clinton International Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, travelers were anxious the wintry weather would impact their flights as well. One person who had arrived to pick up her husband told AccuWeather National Reporter Emmy Victor that she thinks his flight came in just in time. “I was worried that his flight would get delayed or canceled coming back here, but luckily because he just landed I think we just beat, we just made it I think with picking him up right now,” Arkansas resident Robin Green told Victor. While only 11 flights arriving at the airport were canceled, that number made up 21% of total arrivals, according to FlightAware.
AccuWeather’s Emmy Victor reported live from Arkansas on Jan. 31 as people throughout the South dealt with delayed and cancelled flights due to icy weather.
Extreme Meteorologist Reed Timmer was in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area Tuesday, showcasing the dangers along the roads amid an ice storm. Outside of Waxahachie along Interstate 35 East, roughly 30 miles south of downtown Dallas, Timmer pointed out that “pure freezing rain” was already a quarter-inch thick, sticking to trees and accumulating on the roads. “Very dangerous conditions out here … [conditions] started off as sleet, and now we’re shifting over [to freezing rain]” Timmer said. Timmer was also live near Rockwall, Texas, just east of Dallas, covering a traffic standstill over Lake Ray Hubbard.
Extreme meteorologist Reed Timmer is in Dallas, Texas, showcasing the road hazards freezing rain has created.
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officials have released new updates to the incident that resulted in serious injuries to a trooper in Navarro County. According to DPS Sgt. William Lockridge, speaking with AccuWeather’s Amy Haller, DPS Trooper Curtis Putz positioned his car “in such a manner to protect others” while investigating an accident on Interstate 45 south at Exit 220 near Corsicana, about 50 miles south of Dallas. While investigating, a car sliding on ice hit his vehicle, pinning Putz between his vehicle and a guardrail. It is unknown at this time if the car that struck Putz’s vehicle was speeding, though DPS Director Steven C. McCraw said earlier Tuesday that the driver was traveling “too fast for conditions.” Lockridge noted that “it will be a long road to recovery,” and asks to “keep Trooper Putz and his family in your thoughts and prayers.”
Conditions in the eastern Dallas suburbs have continued to deteriorate Tuesday afternoon. On Interstate 20 near Terrell, Texas, 30 miles outside downtown Dallas, several semi-trucks were seen crashed off the road. AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell stated that ramps and bridges in the area are “very slick,” and that ice accumulation on trees has been building.
About 15 miles east of Terrell in Wills Point, Texas, the ice accumulation on tree branches has caused them to bend and snap under the weight.
As travel conditions deteriorate across Texas and Arkansas, AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said areas that were hard-hit Tuesday morning, including portions of I-40 and I-55, will be affected by more ice for the evening commute. “It’s a big mess and it’s really an annoying weather pattern here because this isn’t like a storm system that arrives in your area and then departs and you can sort of get back to normal pretty quickly,” Porter said. “But it’s round after round after round of ice that’s prolonging the dangerous travel and creating all kinds of disruptions.” By Tuesday afternoon, a large traffic jam had grown along I-40 near West Memphis, located in eastern Arkansas. Several accidents had occurred earlier due to the ice accumulation in the area.
Icy conditions weren't just limited to the southern Plains Tuesday. In the area of Evansville, Indiana, sleet began accumulating Monday evening, with more than two-tenths of an inch of frozen precipitation recorded at Evansville Regional Airport. During the morning commute on Tuesday, dozens of accidents were reported in Gibson County, Indiana, which borders both Illinois and Kentucky. With temperatures in the area being in the upper teens early Tuesday, road crews were challenged in clearing major roadways, as melting materials were less effective in the frigid conditions. Parts of western Kentucky could be in the path of more sleet and freezing rain before the ice storm concludes.
Power outages were building across the South Central states in the path of the wintry weather, including Texas and Tennessee. Over 20,000 customers in Texas, primarily in the northeastern portion of the state, were without power by Tuesday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.US. While the total number of power outages wasn’t as high in other states, freezing rain and sleet had moved through Memphis and Shelby County on Monday afternoon, knocking out power to more than 5,000 Memphis Light, Gas and Water customers, according to the company. Over 2,000 of the provider’s customers were without power as of Tuesday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.US. Both large portions of Texas and Tennessee’s Shelby County were under an ice storm warning on Tuesday.
The ice storm causing travel impacts in Texas has triggered a warning that hasn’t been issued in nearly five years. On Tuesday, the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth office issued an ice storm warning for the city, the first such warning in 1,803 days. The warning does not include Dallas. The last Ice Storm Warning was issued on Feb. 23, 2018. The warning, which lasts from 6 a.m. Wednesday through 6 a.m. Thursday also impacts western Fort Worth suburbs such as Stephenville, Denton and Decatur. Surrounding areas, such as Dallas and Waco, continue to be under a Winter Storm Warning.
Severe conditions due to the ice storm in Texas have caused havoc at several of the state’s major airports. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, both Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field have canceled hundreds of Tuesday flights, according to airline tracking site FlightAware. A total of 423 departing flights at Dallas-Fort Worth have been canceled as of Tuesday afternoon, with another 465 flights scheduled to arrive at the airport also canceled. At Dallas Love Field, 137 departing flights were canceled, along with 125 arrivals. Roughly 215 miles south at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, 129 departing flights and 148 arrivals were canceled Tuesday. Overall, over 3,000 flights within, into or out of the United States have been delayed as of Tuesday afternoon, with another 1,700 canceled.
As Tuesday’s ice storm begins to move through Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a state of emergency, with power service restoration a top priority for the state. As of Tuesday afternoon, Arkansas has just 1,275 tracked power outages, according to PowerOutage.US, but Sanders stated that ice could cause power lines to break. The declaration was also made to facilitate a quick resupply of goods interrupted by worsening road conditions. In advance of the storm, Sanders activated the Arkansas National Guard winter weather support teams. Icy conditions have already caused one fatality in Arkansas, a fatal crash reported early Monday morning in Benton County.
A large swath of Interstate 40 in Arkansas was congested with trucks and vehicles as an icy mix created dangerous travel across the southern Plains Tuesday. At least two accidents led to a major standstill on I-40 in Arkansas on Tuesday morning, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT). “Please avoid I-40 westbound between Forrest City and Memphis if possible. The route is covered in ice/ice patches and we are dealing with two accidents,” ARDOT said in a Twitter update. Shortly after 10 a.m. CST, the accidents were both cleared on traffic flow resumed to normal on the interstate.
(Arkansas DOT)
AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said the ice has been creating travel headaches for many across Arkansas and Texas on Tuesday. “We’re seeing that all across portions of eastern Arkansas and similar travel problems across much of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, further southwestward, into central Texas,” Porter said.
As more icy precipitation is expected to fall throughout Tuesday across the southern Plains, A.J. Gary, the director of Arkansas’s Division of Emergency Management urged people to stay off the roads. “The weather that we had [Monday night] and the weather that is coming through [Tuesday] afternoon, we’re just urging people, if they don’t have to get out and drive, please don’t,” Gary said to AccuWeather in an interview.
A Texas State Police trooper was seriously injured Tuesday morning when he was struck while responding to one of the numerous crashes reported in the Dallas-Fort Worth area due to an ice storm impacting the region, authorities said.
Steven C. McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said a driver who was traveling “too fast for conditions” lost control of their vehicle and hit the trooper on Interstate 45 south at Exit 220 near Corsicana in Navarro County, about 50 miles south of Dallas. McCraw said it took the ambulance about an hour and a half to get to the hospital due to the deteriorating road conditions. McCraw confirmed the injury during a press conference with Gov. Greg Abbott and state emergency officials Tuesday.
State Rep. Cody Harris offered prayers in a post on Twitter: "Taylor and I are praying for the State Trooper who was involved in a terrible accident in Navarro County this morning. Join us as we pray for the doctors tending to him and for his family. STAY OFF THE ROADS until the weather has cleared.”
Information on the condition or identity of the trooper has not been released.
Storm chaser Brandon Clement captured video of no fewer than 12 vehicles losing control on the same icy bridge in the Dallas area on Jan. 30.
In a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said there 4,000 professionals across 14 agencies were responding to the winter storm unfolding across the state. Abbott added that the ice is creating dangerous conditions on the roads. “The roadways are very hazardous right now. We cannot overemphasize that,” Abbott said at the press conference. As power outages continue to mount across the state, Abbott confirmed that the outages were due to factors such as ice on the power lines and downed trees. “The power grid itself is functioning effectively as we speak,” said Abbott. “There’s not anticipated to be any challenges to the power grid in the state of Texas.” Texans can call 211 to locate warming centers, if necessary.
The severe winter weather affecting the southern Plains has resulted in a disruption to FedEx’s operations. “The weather has created potentially hazardous operating conditions, and the safety of our team members remains our number one priority,” FedEx wrote in a press release on Tuesday morning. The company experienced “substantial disruptions” at its Memphis, Dallas/Fort Worth and Indianapolis hubs Monday evening due to “severe winter weather.” According to the press release, “potential delays” are possible for any package across the U.S. with a delivery date of Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.
The winter storm turning parts of the south-central U.S. into a sheet of ice isn’t anywhere close to finished. AccuWeather forecasters say the storm could produce a high risk to lives and property before it winds down later this week.
AccuWeather forecasters say it is possible that some locations may pick up a glaze between 0.50 and 0.75 of an inch, which can bring widespread tree damage and power outages. This much ice could build up in the zone from near Dallas, southward to just north of San Antonio to just east of San Angelo, Texas. Another pocket where this much ice is possible will be from portions of central Arkansas to western Tennessee.
“Any type of paved surface can quickly become hazardous to travel on,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. “Even if surfaces only look wet, it is best to err on the side of caution and travel with extreme caution, or defer traveling until the icing event has come to an end.”
A round of freezing rain is forecast to impact the I-40 corridor from Memphis, Tennessee, area and into northern Mississippi, by Tuesday afternoon. Conditions were already deteriorating across the South Central states Tuesday morning, as the ice caused roads, bridges and overpasses to become treacherous. A few crashes had already been spotted down Sam Cooper Blvd. in Memphis, on Tuesday, including three separate accidents where at least one vehicle appeared to have veered into the median.
The flash of lightning followed by a rumble of thunder is synonymous with storms in the spring and summer, but when the conditions are perfect, the phenomenon can occur during winter storms. Generating lightning during a winter storm generally follows the same meteorological process as it would during a thunderstorm. As ice crystals clash together in turbulent updrafts charged particles are generated. When the charge builds up, the energy is released in a bolt of lightning accompanied by a clap of thunder.
“Thunderstorms during the warm season have a much easier time developing strong updrafts because there is more warmth and moisture to feed on and more instability aloft,” AccuWeather meteorologist Jordan Root explained. The updraft in winter storms is not typically as strong as thunderstorms, which is why it’s far less common to hear thunder during a winter storm. But the updraft in the storm that's producing sleet and freezing rain in Texas is strong enough to create thunder and lightning. Since the storm was producing sleet at the time of the thunder and flash of lightning, it is called “thundersleet.” When this phenomenon occurs further north, it is typically referred to as “thundersnow,” since the precipitation falling is snow.
AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell captured the moment lightning illuminated the sky in Irving, Texas, located right outside of Dallas, Tuesday morning. AccuWeather’s lighting map shows multiple strikes of lighting in the Dallas area on Tuesday morning. Thundersleet was also reported just south of Oklahoma City on Tuesday morning.
Lightning caught on video as wintry weather affected the Irving, Texas, area on Jan. 31, 2023.
Over 160 lightning events have been detected across Texas and Oklahoma since 6 a.m. CST Tuesday in connection with the ongoing storm, including dozens of lightning flashes around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. One Twitter user who was standing outside in the wintry weather in northeast Dallas managed to capture video of a cloud-to-ground lightning strike while it was sleeting. The bolt was followed up by a crack of thunder that drowned out the sound of sleet pellets bouncing off objects.
A switchover from sleet back to freezing rain has created dangerous conditions on the roads in Dallas, Texas. In a video AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell shared on Twitter, cars could be seen parked on bridges and windshields were covered in a thin layer of ice. It only takes a thin layer of ice to create slippery conditions on the roadways. On Monday, numerous accidents were reported after ice created slick roads. In a video shared by Wadell, the hood of a car was seen wedged under a large tractor-trailer just outside of Dallas. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is working around the clock to keep the roads drivable. “TxDOT crews are working hard to keep roads passable,” TxDOT wrote on Twitter. “Avoid travel; if you must, remember to move over or slow down for emergency, law enforcement, TxDOT, tow trucks and other vehicles.”
In Austin, Texas, conditions aren’t much better. According to a tweet from the Austin-Travis County EMS department, crews were responding to at least three rollovers, eight traffic injuries and two vehicle rescues. “Stay home! Stay safe! Stay off the roads!” Austin-Travis County EMS wrote on Twitter.
Multiple shades of blue and purple dotted AccuWeather radar early Tuesday around the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Freezing rain, sleet, snow and ice were all evident on the radar that covered parts of northern Texas, with mostly sleet being reported around Dallas proper. Forecasters continue to advise those in the area to avoid traveling on Tuesday as road conditions will continue to worsen. Temperatures in Dallas were hovering around 27 F shortly before 9:30 a.m. local time.
Over 15 million people across the south-central states were under a winter storm warning on Tuesday with another 3 million primarily in Texas and Oklahoma under an ice storm warning. The winter weather alerts associated with the cold front moving through Texas included ice storm warnings, winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories, stretching as far eastward as West Virginia and Ohio.
Many of the advisories, which were impacting a population of over 20 million, are set to expire by Tuesday afternoon unless otherwise stated, but the other two warning types are likely to stick around a bit longer, lasting into Wednesday and Thursday. Winter storm warnings are typically issued when confidence is high that a winter storm will produce heavy snow, sleet or freezing rain and create dangerous conditions such as ice accumulation to trees or power lines, a life-threatening combination of snow and/or ice accumulation with wind, according to the National Weather Service. Ice storm warnings indicate that ice accumulation of at least a quarter of an inch is expected.
Winter storm warnings (dark blue), ice storm warnings (bright pink) and winter weather advisories (grey) stretched from Texas to West Virginia and Ohio on Tuesday morning.
An icy mix fell across the southern Plains on Monday, creating hazardous travel for many. In Willard, Missouri, which is just northwest of Springfield, 0.33 of an inch of freezing rain was reported. This was one of the highest amounts of freezing rain across the southern Plains on Monday. In Greenwood, Arkansas, which is just west of the Oklahoma-Arkansas border, 0.30 of an inch of freezing rain was reported. In Texas, multiple locations recorded 0.25 of an inch of freezing rain on Monday. AccuWeather forecasters say the ongoing storm will continue to bring an icy mix to the region through Tuesday.
Temperatures across the southern Plains were below freezing on Tuesday morning, making for a chilly start to the day. In Oklahoma, temperatures ranged from the single digits to the low 30s. In Arkansas, temperatures in the northern half of the state were in the teens to mid-20s, while the southern half of the state reported temperatures in the low 30s. Although temperatures are above freezing in southern Texas, the majority of the state is reporting temperatures below freezing on Tuesday morning.
On top of the chilly temperatures Tuesday morning, winds were gusting up to 25 mph in some locations, making it feel even colder outside. Due to the gusty winds in southern Oklahoma, AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures were below zero on Tuesday morning. In Altus, Oklahoma, which is near the Texas-Oklahoma border, the temperature was 21 degrees F at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. With wind gusts up to 23 mph in Altus, the RealFeel temperatures was 2 degrees below zero.
Icy roads are creating extremely dangerous conditions on roads across the southern Plains. Just after 6:30 a.m. CST Tuesday morning, one person was pronounced dead on the scene following a multi-vehicle crash in Austin, Texas, Austin Austin-Travis County EMS confirmed on Twitter. While not stated in the tweet from the Austin-Travis County EMS, the icy roads likely played a role in the accident on Tuesday morning. On Monday morning, authorities cited the winter weather as a factor in a fatal crash in Benton County, Arkansas. A spokesperson for the Benton County Sheriff’s Office stated a flatbed truck that was hauling equipment lost control and flipped on a road east of Avoca, Arkansas, killing the driver.
The first wave of travel-snarling icy conditions throughout the southern Plains Monday brought heavy impacts to major airports. In total, 1,130 flights across the United States were canceled Monday, and another 5,744 were delayed. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, both major airports — Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field — canceled and delayed hundreds of flights Monday. At Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport, a total of 361 flights coming into and out of the airport were canceled Monday.
At Dallas Love Field, a total of 223 flights coming in and out of the airport were canceled Monday. Nearly half of Monday’s cancellations were from Southwest Airlines, which canceled about 12% of its Monday schedule. Southwest Airlines has been embroiled in travel issues recently, including mass cancellations over the holiday season. As of Tuesday morning, just under 1,000 flights have been canceled in the U.S. and just over 500 have been delayed.
A storm producing an icy mix across Texas Monday resulted in a busy day for Fort Worth’s Metropolitan Area EMS Authority, known as MedStar EMS. The emergency ambulance service told AccuWeather National Reporter Bill Wadell that EMS crews responded to 116 motor-vehicle accidents Monday. At least 12 of the 116 accidents resulted in a vehicle rollover, and 30 patients were transported to nearby hospitals. MedStar EMSalso responded to nine calls of people slipping on ice. At least seven people were transported to nearby hospitals and one person remains in serious condition. Temperatures across the region dropped significantly Monday, which resulted in six separate hypothermia-related calls for MedStar EMS. At least three patients were taken to nearby hospitals and they all remain in serious condition.
An ice storm created slick driving conditions leading to multiple accidents and spinouts in the Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, area.
As sleet poured down across eastern Oklahoma, northern Arkansas and southern Missouri Monday, totals exceeded 1 inch in several locations. In Doniphan, Missouri, which is located just north of the Arkansas-Missouri border, 1.5 inches of sleet fell Monday. Nearly 137 miles to the west, in Table Rock, Missouri, 1.5 inches of sleet was also recorded Monday. In Rogers, Arkansas, located just south of the Arkansas-Missouri border, 1.4 inches of sleet was reported Monday. AccuWeather forecasters say the ongoing storm will continue to bring an icy mix to the region through Tuesday.
A severe ice storm throughout Texas has some remembering the massive winter storm of 2021, which left millions in the Lone Star State experiencing power outages during subfreezing temperatures. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said Monday that it expects to meet demand from Texas customers this week, avoiding another significant outage crisis during severe conditions. In a social media post, ERCOT officials noted that they are “monitoring weather conditions" and expect "sufficient generation to meet forecasted demand.” ERCOT was able to avoid issues with forecast demand in December, when frigid temperatures were rampant throughout the state. As of Tuesday morning, ERCOT’s website stated that conditions for the state’s power grid were “normal,” with 7,503 megawatts of operating reserves as of 4:40 a.m. CST.
As icy conditions continue to cause hazardous travel across the North Texas and Dallas area, hundreds of schools have announced closings. As of 4:30 a.m. CST, 364 school closings were reported for Tuesday, according to NBC DFW. The second largest school district in Texas, Dallas ISD, canceled all after-school activities Monday and will remain closed Tuesday. Friso ISD, the second largest school district in North Texas, announced all after-school activities Monday along with school Tuesday are being canceled. Other large districts closed Tuesday include Arlington ISD, Garland ISD and Plano ISD. Several universities across the region have also canceled classes Tuesday, including Dallas Baptist University, Texas Woman's University in Denton and Dallas and the University of North Texas.
While similar and equally dangerous, freezing rain and sleet are different types of precipitation. Sleet occurs when snow melts in a warm layer of air well above the ground, allowing it to refreeze in the air before touching the surface. Sleet looks like frozen raindrops or small ice pellets.
Freezing rain occurs when the warm air layer is thicker and allows less time for the raindrops to refreeze, resulting in the rain freezing upon contact with the surface instead of above it. Freezing rain causes a coating of ice to form on contact with the surface.
With the second wave of an ice storm about to unleash wintry precipitation on the southern Plains, where this storm came from is on the brain for residents across impacted states. The first wave of the storm began Sunday, before the storm shifted to the southeast Monday along with colder air, a trend that will continue Tuesday. This colder air was a key ingredient for wet conditions on the ground, along with a surplus of moisture due to the nearby Gulf of Mexico. The cold air coming into the southern Plains is called a Blue Norther. “That cold air remains close to the surface despite temperatures above freezing not far above the surface,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert said. “The cold air remains dense and stays close to the surface.”
Ahead of wintry precipitation that began in Texas Monday, crews from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) tried to ease driving conditions by pretreating major roadways. On its social media page, TxDOT stated that drivers should leave room between their vehicles and work convoys while they work. The organization also has equipment in case road-clearing endeavors are necessary. Road pretreatment typically involves salt and/or anti-skid mix, with material most effective on the road when crushed and spread by traffic. In the St. Louis metro area, road treatment ran into issues Sunday evening and Monday morning due to factors such as wet pavement and rapid temperature drops, leading to multiple accidents on major roadways. Though not in the main area of concern over the next several days, road crews have begun road pretreatment on Kentucky state highways, with Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray telling residents to give plows “plenty of room on the road to work.”
Dozens of accidents have been reported amid freezing rain and sleet across North Texas on Monday. Westbound Interstate 20 in Terrell, Texas, was closed for about an hour on Monday morning, according to Total Traffic DFW. As sleet and freezing rain built up across the area, more accidents were being reported on Interstate 20, Interstate 35E and 121 west of DFW Airport. Just under half an inch of sleet was reported on roads just south of Denton, Texas, as of Monday afternoon. All express lanes in Tarrant County were closed due to the wintry weather.
