For hundreds of travelers, Christmas Day in North Texas meant an overnight stay at the Dallas//Fort Worth Airport.
About 1,000 passengers stayed overnight at terminals after 415 flights were canceled because of the snow and ice that hit North Texas Christmas afternoon."DFW personnel provided cots, blankets, kits and other comforts for overnight passengers," said David Magaña, an airport spokesman in an email Wednesday morning.American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said the carrier, along with American Eagle, canceled about 200 flights Wednesday morning in and out of DFW Airport.Rebooking the hundreds of passengers that had flights canceled on Christmas may take a while."Planes are very full this week, more full than usual, and we're working to reaccomodate folks as quickly as we can," Miller said.There may be more flight cancellations Wednesday evening as the same storm system that blanketed North Texas with snow could impact operations at New York's JFK and LaGuardia airports, Miller said.The temperature had dipped to 22 degrees Wednesday morning with wind chill readings in the single digits.Several cities in North Texas reported that their offices were closed Wednesday or that they were delaying their opening for several hours.Freeways and city streets were mostly free of ice throughout Christmas Day, but conditions worsened as it grew dark and dozens of wrecks were reported Tuesday night.Authorities warned that icy spots still existed Wednesday morning on bridges and overpasses in addition to scattered patches.Highway, safety and weather officials were urging caution."Icy conditions will be around," said meteorologist Tom Bradshaw with the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth.The Fort Worth district of the Texas Department of Transportation has 160 drivers and trucks working for a 10-county area that included Tarrant, Parker, Jack, Wise, Parker, Palo Pinto, Erath, Hood, Somervell and Johnson."We've got crews now working 12-hour shifts," said Jodi Hodges of the Texas Department of Transportation. "As long as there is ice on the highways, they will be working."The snow ended around 5 p.m. Tuesday. Officially, 0.4 of an inch of snow and 1.35 inches of rain were recorded at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.Much higher snowfall totals were recorded elsewhere."Tarrant County got about one to two inches of snow," Bradshaw said. "There were reports of three to four inches of snow in Denton and Collin counties. Some locations in Wise County got five inches."White Christmases are rare - but not unheard of - in North Texas. The last time we saw snow on Christmas Day was in 2009.The frigid conditions on Christmas Day were made worse by winds of 25 to 35 mph.MedStar reported that it had responded to 48 automobile wrecks between 5 and 7:30 p.m.At the Presbyterian Night Shelter in Fort Worth's homeless district, there were about 575 people housed Tuesday evening. The facility has a capacity of 625.Before the snowflakes started falling Tuesday afternoon, most North Texans were awakened by booming thunderstorms that crossed through the region bringing rain and some hail.The high Christmas morning was 47 degrees, but freezing temperatures soon followed and by early Tuesday afternoon the rain turned to a cold, stinging snow.Hodges said highway crews were using snow plows in Jack and Wise counties Tuesday afternoon to clear highways."Crews were out treating bridges and overpasses in north Tarrant County," Hodges said. "That's been where we have seen the heaviest amount of snow."At DFW Airport, de-icing operations were causing about a 20-minute delay on departing flights Tuesday afternoon, Magaña said. Initially, just 60 flights had to be canceled Tuesday afternoon, but that increased to more than 400 by Tuesday evening and another 200 Wednesday, airport officials said.Airport officials encouraged passengers to check their flight status before arriving at the airport.Star-Telegram reporter Andrea Ahles contributed to this article.Domingo Ramirez Jr., 817-390-7763Twitter: @mingoramirezjr
White Christmas in DFW turns to black ice
Forecast, radar for North Texas
Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
