Winter storm forces cancellation of flights in Texas

Winter weather brought ice to Texas and neighboring states on Tuesday, forcing more than 980 flights to be canceled and another 800 delayed.

Several traffic accidents were reported in Austin, where at least one person died, according to the Fire Department.

More than 500 flights to or from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and nearly 125 to or from Dallas Love Field Airport were canceled or delayed Tuesday, according to the FlightAware monitoring service.

Southwest Airlines has canceled more than 300 flights and delayed about 100, FlightAware reported.

The storm began Monday as part of a weather event that is expected to bring precipitation to Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee, said Marc Chenard of the National Weather Service.

“Generally speaking, there will be light to moderate levels of freezing rain causing significant amounts of ice,” Chenard said.

“We anticipate ice accumulations, potentially of a quarter inch (0.6 centimeters) or a little more, reaching as far south as Austin, Texas, and further north toward Dallas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee and even Nashville, Tennessee,” Chenard added.

Southwest had a flight crunch in December, initially triggered by a winter storm but continuing even after other airlines rallied. Southwest canceled about 16,700 flights in the last 10 days of the year and the Department of Transportation is investigating.

The weather service issued a winter storm warning for parts of Texas and Oklahoma, and an ice warning for parts of Arkansas and Tennessee.

Winter storm warnings are in effect for other parts of Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and southern Indiana and Ohio.

Classes were suspended or virtual at schools and universities in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

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