Photo: Josh Coleman/Getty Images
The winter weather brought ice to a wide swath of the United States on Tuesday, canceling more than 1,700 flights across the country and blocking roads.
At least two people died on slippery roads in Texas and two law enforcement officers in the state were seriously injuredincluding an officer who was trapped under a truck, authorities said.
As the ice storm moved east on Tuesday, watches and warnings stretched from the West Heel of Texas to West Virginia.
Several rounds of mixed precipitation, including freezing rain and sleet, were expected in many areas through Wednesday, meaning some regions could be hit multiple times, the federal Weather Prediction Center warned.
First responders rushed to respond to hundreds of car collisions in Texas and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott urged people to stay off the road.
The authorities said that one person in Austin was killed in a pile-up before dawn Tuesday.
A A 45-year-old man also died Monday night after his pickup truck slid into a guardrail on a highway near Dallas. in slippery conditions and rolled down an embankment, according to the Arlington Police Department.
More than 900 flights to or from the main US airport hub, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and more than 250 to or from Dallas Love Field were canceled or delayed Tuesday, according to the tracking service. FlightAware.
In Dallas-Fort Worth, more than 50% of Tuesday’s scheduled flights had been canceled by Tuesday afternoon.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines canceled more than 560 flights on Tuesday and delayed 350 more, FlightAware reported.
Until Tuesday morning about 7,000 power outages were reported in Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said after a briefing in Austin on worsening conditions.
Abbott stressed that the outages were due to factors such as ice on power lines or downed trees, and not the performance of the Texas power grid that collapsed for days during a deadly winter storm in 2021.
Emergency vehicle fleets were deployed among 1,600 roads affected by the freeze.
In Texas, A sheriff’s deputy who stopped to help the driver of an 18-wheeler who ran off an icy road Tuesday was struck by a second truck that pinned him under one of its tires.according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.
About 45 minutes after the crash on State Highway 130, the officer was freed from the rubble. and taken to a hospital, where he underwent surgery Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. The sheriff is expected to survive, authorities said.
In another accident, A Texas state trooper was hospitalized with serious injuries after being struck by a driver who lost control of his vehiclesaid Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
“The roads are very dangerous right now. We can’t overemphasize that,” Abbott said. As ice and sleet engulfed Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis-Shelby County Schools announced they are canceling classes Wednesday due to freezing rain and dangerous road conditions. The school system has about 100,000 students. The University of Memphis said it would announce plans for Wednesday classes tomorrow at 6 a.m.
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