Dallas weather: Snow leads to crashes, flight delays
DALLAS - Many parts of North Texas saw a decent amount of snowfall overnight and on Monday morning.
It has caused some traffic trouble, flight cancelations, power outages, and medical emergencies.
Here’s a look at the conditions across North Texas.
MORE: Dallas-Fort Worth Weather Forecast
Dallas County Driving Conditions
The wintry mix that fell in parts of Dallas County overnight left roads dangerous in some areas.
FOX 4 Traffic Reporter Chip Waggoner said it all depends on where you live. Some roads are great and others are not.
"When you look at Evan's radar and you see those streaks of where you have the lake-effect snow. Those are the areas that we have the greatest concerns," he said.
Texas Department of Transportation crews have been working 12-hour shifts to treat the major roadways. It’s still slick in some areas, especially on neighborhood streets.
TxDOT employees with the Fort Worth and Dallas districts will continue to work long shifts until North Texas is above freezing.
Neighborhood roads in Irving, Texas on Jan. 15, 2024
They hope the thousands of gallons of brine will help drivers get around the Metroplex safely.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit said all rail lines are in operation, but some trains are experiencing delays because of the weather conditions. Riders should plan for longer travel times.
MORE: Dallas-Fort Worth Traffic Updates
Tarrant County Driving Conditions
In Tarrant County, the Fort Worth suburb of Euless received more than just a dusting because of the winds that picked up moisture from Grapevine Lake.
People waking up in that area saw cars along the street covered in snow. That means the roads were also snow-covered.
TxDOT crews have been out assessing road conditions and laying salt where needed.
Meanwhile, drivers are urged to take it slow across bridges and overpasses, which is good because there are some really slick spots.
As far as road conditions go, most main lanes are clear. It’s the outside lanes, elevated surfaces, and side streets that are troublesome.
There was a bad crash involving at least 10 vehicles on the eastbound Highway 183 ramp to northbound Highway 121. All lanes were blocked because of the accident.
"I guess everyone had the assumption they treated the roads properly. There's a little pile of sand up here I seen but there wasn't anything on the bridge as everyone was coming through. As the pack of us were coming around, there were already cars weaving and spinning out and everybody started hitting their breaks which wasn't really a good thing," said Steve, one of the drivers who ended up having his truck towed away.
There were no major injuries in that crash.
School Closures
Most school districts in North Texas are already closed on Monday because of the MLK holiday.
A few districts and some daycares decided to close because of the wintry weather.
LIST: School and daycare closures in DFW
Dallas ISD, Fort Worth ISD and several other school districts called off school for Tuesday as well because of the conditions.
DFW and Love Field Flight Cancelations
Nearly 200 flights into and out of DFW and Love Field airports were canceled Sunday. That number is already higher for Monday.
At DFW Airport, about 379 flights have already been canceled for Monday and about 828 have been delayed.
But the big airport said it is de-icing planes and operating normally during the icy weather.
Crews work to de-ice planes at DFW Airport on Jan. 15, 2024.
More than 125 flights in and out of Love Field were canceled.
115 flights were delayed on Monday.
The winter weather is causing travel problems in other parts of the country as well.
So far on Monday, the airports in Denver and Houston are seeing the most flight cancelations.
Dallas-Fort Worth Power Outages
Oncor crews are working to restore power to North Texans who are without electricity.
On Sunday night, about 10,000 customers lost power. Most now have their lights back on.
As of 7 a.m. on Monday, just over 4,300 customers were still without power.
Oncor said its pre-positioned crews are working to address problems and restore the power as fast as possible.
At this point, all power outages people are experiencing are localized and not related to problems with the state's power grid.
Hardware Stores Swamped
At Elliott's Hardware in Dallas, it was all hands on deck Monday.
A couple of the cashiers called out, so the general manager Welmon Mays came in on the holiday to help out.
He brought his young son with him since he's off from school.
The GM didn't mind playing double duty, helping out with babysitting.
"Be here for folks. We still got some stuff, ice melt, vents covers, faucet protection, stuff like that," said Mays.
North Texans Venture Out For Groceries
With temperatures hovering in the teens on Monday, most North Texans took the opportunity to remain indoors.
Still, some ventured out to grab food and other essentials.
At the Tom Thumb grocery store in Dallas' Deep Ellum neighborhood, plenty of people bundled up to grab what they needed.
"Well, we were feeling very lazy yesterday and the day before that, so we decided we really didn't have much left. We knew the roads weren't too bad, so we thought, why not," said shopped Claudia Sanchez.
Sanchez's story is a familiar one.
Most of the customers we ran into had to come to the grocery store Monday because they hadn't before the wintry mix moved in.
"Grafetul we're at Tom Thumb, but the City of Dallas has done a great job keeping the roads paved. Keeping the salt on the roads," said Chris Stepps.
Stepps and his girlfriend plan to settle in for the night.
Other shoppers were tasked with making tough decisions.
"We're getting a lot of fruit and things we may need. What's on the menu I actually have no idea," said Robin Evans with a laugh.
Some knew exactly what they needed.
"Yeah, I needed some wine. I'm going to sit inside and drink some wine all day," said Rashad Frizzell.
Dallas Mavericks fans head to AAC
The cold weather on Monday didn't stop Dallas Mavericks fans from making a trip to the AAC.
"It's a little chilly for Texas, like, really cold," said Mavs fans Caden Baker.
The Mavericks took on the New Orleans Pelicans Monday afternoon as scheduled.
With school out and people off work, fans were not going to let the cold keep them home.
"It's cold, but it's the Mavs, I got to see them," said Mavs fan Crayton Wright.
Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Plano brought a bus of young people to the game.
"We were a little concerned, but once we saw with the weather and roads it wasn't really that bad, we were like, we are coming to see the game. The kids are excited," said Bryan McCray, the youth pastor for the church.
Some fans opted for the DART instead of driving.
"I didnt want to slip," said Raven LeDay. "One little ice patch and it would be done for, take me out of commission."
North Texas Medical Emergencies
Emergency responders are urging people to use safe heating sources as they watch for possible carbon monoxide poisoning in North Texas.
Gasoline-powered heaters can cause the odorless gas, especially if they are operated indoors.
MedStar in Tarrant County said it has already treated one person for CO poisoning.
The Fort Worth Fire Department and Dallas Fire-Rescue have responded to 39 carbon monoxide calls combined.
They also urge people to be careful when using things like stoves or grills to generate heat.
There have also been a handful of medical calls about people who were overexposed to the bitter cold.
MedStar said it treated 12 people suffering from hypothermia Sunday night. Seven of those patients were taken to the hospital and one was listed in critical condition.
None of the cases are believed to be life-threatening.