Commuters stay home in DFW, averting possible icy disaster
Sleet and even thundersleet coated North Texas roads, yards and walkways Monday, particularly in Tarrant County, as forecasters revised sleet accumulation estimates to up to 2 inches.
A winter storm warning is in effect until 6 p.m. today, but poor driving conditions are expected to last through Tuesday. Almost all area school districts closed for the day.
The morning commute could have been treacherous, but motorists appeared to heed warnings and stay home. With temperatures expected to remain in the 20s all day, the drive home isn’t expected to be much better.
The bands of sleet, some mixed with thunder, began moving into Tarrant County around 4 a.m.
By dawn, most of the western half of the Metroplex had seen anywhere from a half-inch to an inch of sleet, with some reports of 2 inches of sleet near Dennis in Parker County.
Fort Worth Police tweeted that there had been 66 accidents since 9 last night.
“Several roads are shut down in the Metroplex,” National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Harris said. “It’s pretty bad out there, and it won’t be getting any better anytime soon. Travel is going to be really hazardous throughout the rest of the day. Go easy on the brakes.”
Temperatures won’t climb out of the 20s until Tuesday.
Highway travel west and north of the DFW area was also expected to be treacherous.
“I would expect there would be problems on Ranger Hill west of Fort Worth,” Harris said. “I think you’ve got to go all the way to Abilene before it gets better.”
Steve Fano, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Fort Worth, said temperatures are expected to stay below freezing into Tuesday, adding that there would be a 100 percent chance of sleet or freezing rain through late afternoon.
Rain had mostly ended by 7:45 p.m. Sunday, said Ashton Altieri, a meteorologist with Star-Telegram media partner WFAA. After a six- to eight-hour break, a second round began early this morning, with heavy sleet in some areas around 6 a.m.
He said 2-inch sleet accumulations are most likely in neighborhoods on the north and west sides of Tarrant County,
The city of Fort Worth opened its emergency operation center Sunday evening and had 15 trucks patrolling bridges by 7 p.m., city spokeswoman Michelle Gutt said. Employees were to work a 12-hour emergency shift, she said.
The North Texas Tollway Authority had started pretreating roads with brine on Thursday.
At DFW Airport, airlines canceled about half of today’s flights, according to a statement from the airport, which also said 160 flights were canceled Sunday afternoon.
One passenger, Bonnie Bonin Carreno of El Paso, said she was still waiting at 9:15 p.m. to board her flight home, which originally was scheduled to depart around 5 p.m.
On the airport property, workers had pretreated elevated surfaces, runways and taxiways Sunday afternoon.
DART suspended light rail service to and from the airport until the weather improves.
Emergency responders with MedStar stayed at local hotels Sunday night so they could be close by to show up for their shifts safely, spokesman Matt Zavadsky said
Five extra ambulance crews were scheduled to be on duty Monday.
Medical responders responded to 911 calls without lights and sirens to move with the flow of traffic and prevent accidents, Zavadsky said. Calls for patients exposed to the weather in unprotected areas will get higher priority, he said.
The sleet and freezing rain chances drop to 20 percent after 6 p.m. today, according to the National Weather Service, and wind speeds will remain at 15-20 mph, slowing a bit after sunset.
Staff writers Bill Hanna, Caty Hirst, Yamil Berard and Anna M. Tinsley contributed to this report.
Monica S. Nagy, 817-390-7792
Cold-weather driving
Common sense goes a long way when it comes to driving in icy conditions. The best advice is to stay home. But if you have to venture out, here are some tips:
▪ Posted speed limits are based on good weather. So with ice on the roads, it’s wise to drive well below what’s legally allowed.
▪ Keep your distance from the car ahead of you: Triple however much space you would typically leave.
▪ Watch for ice removal equipment and give those vehicles lots of space.
▪ Remember that bridges ice first because cold air is flowing both above and below the elevated roadway.
▪ If you slide, ease off the gas pedal and resist the urge to brake. Steer in the direction of the skid until your car regains traction, then straighten out.
▪ Call the state hotline, 800-452-9292, for the latest information. For nonemergency roadside assistance, call the Texas Department of Public Safety at 800-525-5555. On social media, follow @TxDot on Twitter.
Source: Texas Department of Transportation
Snow and ice in North Texas, 2010-14
Winter weather events in Dallas-Fort Worth over the past five years:
March 2, 2014: A sleet storm covered North Texas in ice, forcing the cancellation of 300 flights at DFW Airport. It also played a role in an Arlington traffic fatality.
Dec. 5-10 2013: The worst ice storm in years spawned two new terms: Icemaggedon and cobblestone ice. It started when freezing rain, sleet and a little snow began falling during the afternoon of Dec. 5 and continued into Dec. 6. By morning, the Metroplex was in a deep freeze that shut down the entire region.
The low temperatures made things even worse. The constant melting and refreezing, combined with the pounding from truck tires, turned the frozen stuff into something called cobblestone ice, making many highways impassable. Hundreds of cars and trucks were stranded, many on Interstate 35W from Fort Worth to the Oklahoma border and on Interstate 20 from Fort Worth to the west.
Dec. 25, 2012: A strong upper-level system and cold front generated hail-producing thunderstorms and then a wintry mix of snow and sleet that complicated travel. Four to 6 inches of snow fell in Denton, Parker and Collin counties.
Feb. 1-4, 2011: The world watched this one as two potent winter storms put an icy blanket on Super Bowl festivities. Rain and then sleet, snow and ice were capped with howling winds and temperatures in the teens. From 3/4 inch to 2 inches of ice and sleet were recorded. Temperatures stayed below freezing for 100 hours.
March 20-21, 2010: A strong, frigid storm system dropped heavy snow north of Interstate 20, dumping 5 to 9 inches across Collin County.
Feb. 23, 2010: Rain turned to snow with an average of 2 to 5 inches falling in southern areas of North Texas.
Feb. 11-12, 2010: A record-breaking snow buried North Texas with 14.4 inches in Haslet and 12.5 inches at DFW Airport in 24 hours. The heavy snow resulted in widespread power outages. Cleanup of tree damage lasted weeks.
Sources: Star-Telegram archives, National Weather Service
Closings
This is not a complete list — check websites and social media, or call locations that are not listed.
School districts: Arlington, Argyle, Birdville, Burleson, Crowley, Carroll, Cedar Hill, Dallas, Denton, Duncanville, Fort Worth, Grapevine-Colleyville, Keller, Mansfield, Northwest.
Higher education: Texas Christian University, University of North Texas, Tarrant County College, Texas Wesleyan University and UT Arlington.
Government: All government offices in Collin, Denton and Dallas counties will be closed. Tarrant County information was not available late Sunday.
Other: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth's offices at the Catholic Center will be closed.
This story was originally published February 22, 2015 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Commuters stay home in DFW, averting possible icy disaster."