Winter storm blasts freezing rain, ice and snow across U.S., with over 4,000 flights canceled
A massive winter storm is making its way across the U.S. Thursday, blasting snow, freezing rain, sleet and brutally cold temperatures while knocking out power for tens of thousands of people.
The storm system has placed more than 100 million Americans under winter weather alerts, and over 4,000 flights had already been canceled by Thursday morning, according to the FlightAware website.
In Texas, ice dangling from power lines, draping gas pumps and coating highways are frigid reminders of the damage that freezing temperatures caused last year across the state, prompting a rush to get ready.
"It's as busy as I've ever seen it. People carrying out cases upon cases of water," Texas resident Harry Evans said.
Last year's winter storm in Texas caused a deadly power crisis that lasted weeks. This year, the Public Utility Commission of Texas said the "lights will stay on," and it is confident there will be enough power.
But nearly 70,000 Texas homes were already in the dark Thursday morning, according to the website PowerOutages.US. And with the freezing temperatures just getting started, demand for electricity is expected to set a new record Friday morning.
On Tuesday, Governor Greg Abbott said no one can guarantee there won't be any power outages during the storm, despite his past promise the lights would stay on this year.
Brad Jones, interim CEO of Texas' power grid operator, ERCOT, said the system is more reliable than ever.
"We are ready. We're very ready," Jones said.
"The stuff that we've done for the past year, whether it's weatherizing our fleet, or the way we operate our grid, it really has put us in a solid position," he said.
North of Texas, meanwhile, the brutal winter storm is pummeling the Midwest, sending out snow plows in full force. Parts of Illinois and Indiana are expecting the most snow: up to 18 inches by Thursday night.
"I am not quite prepared today, but you know, you layer up and you brave it and you do what you can and hope for the summer," Illinois resident Leon Tripplett said.
Interstate 74 in Peoria, Illinois, was in complete chaos as cars and big rigs tried to navigate the heavy snow.
As the storm makes travel conditions extremely dangerous, several school districts across the country are closed Thursday and Friday.
The number of flights being canceled is also expected to increase. In Texas, Dallas Love Field Airport has virtually shut down operations after nearly 90% of flights were canceled.
