Widespread Power Outages and Travel Disruptions Continue to Hamper Texas and Beyond

Posted: February 1, 2023 3:16 pm

Power outages continue to mount across Texas as a massive winter storm is impacting much of the south-central U.S. Here is a look at where things stand on Wednesday for this part of the country grappling with severe weather.

Wintry Precipitation Continues in the South-Central U.S.

A parade of storms fueled by moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and Arctic air to the north is producing a wide array of wintry precipitation for an area stretching from the Rio Grande in Texas through the Tennessee Valley and beyond. The precipitation first started falling on Monday and is forecast to continue through Thursday, creating a number of travel delays and other disruptions to everyday life.

Wednesday morning saw the arrival of more ice and freezing rain for central and northern portions of Texas. Forecasters are predicting up to another half of an inch of ice for the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. It may be even icier farther to the south in areas such as Austin. This part of central Texas could see ice accumulation totaling between half of an inch and three-quarter of an inch.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Fort Worth is warning that roads will be impassable in the metroplex throughout the day Wednesday and into Thursday. They are also predicting more power outages for the region in the coming hours.

Massive Life Disruptions

The heavy ice has brought down trees and power lines, leaving many Texans in the dark. There were over 300,000 customers without power in Texas by Wednesday morning, representing a doubling of power outages in just a few hours. Transformers were exploding all over the capital city of Austin as the sun rose. Officials in Austin have opened warming centers across the city for residents without warmth and power to go.

The Associated Press is reporting that at least six people have lost their lives as a result of driving on icy roads since Monday in Texas. One crash took the lives of three people near Brownfield after the vehicle lost traction and crossed over a median before rolling into a ditch. Other fatalities were reported in Austin and Dallas.

A sheriff’s deputy in Travis County was seriously injured when he stopped to assist the driver of a tractor-trailer on Tuesday. The deputy was hit by another truck, pinning him beneath a tire. On Monday, a state trooper was injured in Navarro County after being struck by a vehicle as he was responding to another accident.

Residents of Austin and Dallas hoping to avoid getting out on the roads by ordering DoorDash were left disappointed after the food delivery service suspended all operations in these two cities through Thursday morning. A spokesperson for the company said that the inclement road conditions forced the decision.

About 2,000 flights had been cancelled by Wednesday morning with over half of these cancellations coming out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Airport officials are reminding all travelers to check with their airline before heading to the airport. Other airports experiencing a large number of cancellations and delays include Dallas Love Field Airport, Nashville International Airport, and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Cold Temperatures Accompany Wintry Precipitation

The wintry precipitation onslaught is a result of an influx of moisture coming up from the Gulf of Mexico pairing with a rush of Arctic air filtering down from the north. Temperatures in Texas are so low that they are rivaling current readings in some parts of Alaska.

For instance, the real feel temperature in Dallas on Wednesday morning hit 28 degrees. This compares to a real feel reading of 31 degrees in Anchorage, Alaska. It is also actually warmer in Juneau, Alaska than it is in Dallas. The real feel in Austin was even colder, sitting in the upper teens during the early morning hours.

Funeral of Tyre Nichols Delayed Due to Inclement Weather

Texas is not the only part of the south-central U.S. seeing inclement weather. The funeral of Tyre Nichols was delayed on Wednesday in order to give attendees more time to safely get to the church because of poor road conditions in Memphis. The service was originally scheduled to begin at 9:30 am local time, however, it was pushed back to a start time of 1 pm.

The city is under an ice storm warning until Thursday morning. The freezing rain is forecast to transition to straight rain by later in the day Thursday as the mercury inches up over the freezing mark.

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