First Alert Weather: Icy roads continue to cause closures, delays in North Texas
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) — Moderate freezing rain will continue to fall in parts of North Texas, accumulating on roadways making them even more treacherous. Ice is also forming on tree limbs and power lines, which is why there's an ice storm warning until 9 a.m. Thursday morning. Warmer temperatures are expected by afternoon, but with that, more rain as well.
Parkland Health extends clinic closures
All Parkland Health clinics will remain closed on Thursday, Feb. 2.
Closures have been extended for the following clinics:
Community Oriented Primary Care Health Centers (COPCs)
Acute Response Clinics (ARCs)
Women's Health Centers
Youth & Family Centers
Moody Outpatient Clinics
WISH Clinics
Hospital-based and offsite outpatient specialty clinics
Ron J. Anderson, MD Clinics (RJA)*
Homeless outreach locations (HOMES)
Employee Health Center and Employee Women's Wellness Center
Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic
Radiology Procedure Clinic and all interventional radiology procedures
Simmons Ambulatory Surgery Center
Parkland's community screenings conducted at the following community pop-ups will also be closed:
John C. Phelps Recreation Center, 3030 Tips Blvd., Dallas
DHA Park Manor, 3333 Edgewood St., Dallas
DHA Buckeye Commons, 6676 Buckeye Commons Way, Dallas
The following areas will be open:
All scheduled inpatient surgeries will proceed
The outpatient pharmacy in the Ron J. Anderson, MD clinic building on Parkland's main campus, 5184 Tex Oak Ave, Dallas, open 24 hours
Outpatient CT and MRI in RJA will be open
Moody Comprehensive Breast Center
Patients who have an appointment at one of the clinics on Thursday will be contacted by Parkland to reschedule. Parkland asks patients not to contact them.
Oncor power outage update
5 p.m. - Oncor is reporting less than 100 homes in the metroplex are experiencing a power outage.
MedStar calls drop in part thanks to drivers staying home
MedStar reported on Wednesday afternoon that their crews have responded to fewer calls than over the past few days, crediting the drop-off in part thanks to drivers staying home.
Between 3:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. on Feb. 1, paramedics recorded four vehicle accidents, three incidents of hypothermia, and two injuries due to falls and slips on ice. None of the wrecks were rollovers, but one did require transport. Two of the hypothermia incidents were considered serious.
Since the storm started on Monday, MedStar has received 172 calls for vehicle crashes, 17 reports of hypothermia, and 17 incidents of injuries due to falling or slipping on ice.
ERCOT expects grid to meet demand despite icy weather
ERCOT said in a tweet that even though ice is starting to weigh down trees and powerlines, they expect the grid to meet demand. However, some local outages are possible. If you experience one, contact your local provider.
North Texas Olympian Ashley Cain skates the streets
12:45 p.m. - North Texas Olympian Ashley Cain laced up her skates and took to the streets amid the winter storm in Coppell. Pretty cool!
Airports under pressure due to icy conditions and low staffing
12:00 p.m. - Both DFW Airport and Love Field are experiencing delays and cancellations due to icy conditions and short staffing as TSA officers, airline employees, and others were unable to drive to work this morning.
You can check the waiting times for security checkpoints here.
60 warming centers opened across Texas
11:54 a.m. - Warming centers are opening across Texas. Here's a map to help you find one close by.
Sleet, freezing drizzle make for dangerous roads
11:45 a.m. - More sleet and freezing drizzle have made already slick roads even more dangerous. We urge everyone not to drive today if at all possible. But if you do, please take extra precautions. Fill up your tank with gas and pack a warm blanket just in case.
Denton area still seeing a lot of ice, more on the way
Jack Fink is at the Buc-ee's in Denton where conditions are still icy. More wet precipitation is on the way to North Texas this afternoon, so please avoid the roads if possible.
Icy roads in western Jack County
Trash collection in some cities paused due to winter weather
10:00 a.m. - Fort Worth, Dallas, Denton, Plano, and Arlington have all cancelled trash collection today due to the icy roads.
North Texas could see more ice accumulation this afternoon
North Texas roadways and surfaces are still largely covered in ice more wet precipitation is expected later this afternoon. Check out the latest forecast here.
Some businesses remain open in North Texas
8:25 a.m. - If you need to run out and grab some food and supplies, here's a list of some North Texas businesses that will be open today despite the icy roads.
Is your business open? Know of businesses in your community that are open? Shout them out and we will include them in our open business list online. #FirstAlertDFW
Galleria Dallas closed due to weather
The Galleria Dallas announced it will be closed today due to the winter weather, but added that restaurants and businesses with external entrances may stay open if they choose.
DART delays
6:52 a.m. - Due to inclement weather, DART Blue Line passengers should expect additional delays and use Bus Routes 288 and 41 from Ledbetter to UNT Dallas stations.
DART officials say passengers should also look to board a shuttle bus between Downtown Garland and Downtown Rowlett stations.
Trinity Metro service changes
6:38 a.m. - All bus and ZipZone services for Trinity Metro have been temporarily suspended. Trinity Metro Access will continue services for scheduled live-sustaining trips but there may be some delays. Customers who are traveling and impacted by winter weather service schedule changes are encouraged by Trinity Metro to arrange a guaranteed ride home by calling customer care at 817-215-8600.
Trinity Metro TEXRail and Trinity Railway Express (TRE) will operate on regular weekday schedules today, but passengers may continue to experience weather-related delays.
Stay safe, stay patient, slow down
6:10 a.m. - Fort Worth police report 14 major accidents and 8 minor accidents overnight. If you do have to be on the roads today, Officer Calzada recommends that you "stay safe, stay patient, and slow down". Highways and major roads have been treated for ice so drivers tend to get confident while on those roads to then start slipping on any side roads and off ramps.
Ice storm warning is now in effect
6:00 a.m. - An ice storm warning has been issued for western counties, including Dallas, Denton, Johnson, Wise and Tarrant.
The warning goes into effect on Feb. 1 at 6 a.m. and continues through Feb. 2 at 6 a.m.
Schools closed Wednesday, Feb. 1
5:46 a.m. - Several North Texas school districts have cancelled classes for the day, including Azle ISD, Dallas ISD, Fort Worth ISD and Plano ISD.
See our updated list of school closings here.
MedStar crews response volume
5:17 a.m. - As of 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, now a bit over 48 hours into the winter storm, MedStar crews have responded to
- 126 motor vehicle crashes, including 21 rollover crashes
- 14 hypothermia patients, 12 were transported to area hospitals and 7 in critical condition
- 15 patients injured from falls after slipping on ice
In an attempt to prevent crashes between motorists who are on the road, MedStar continues its suspension of the use of lights and siren responses.
Icy conditions continue on roads
5:17 a.m. - Ice continues to cover roads today. Again, it's best to avoid going out on the roads today. If you do have to go out, remember that bridges, overpasses and shaded areas are where you're most likely to encounter trouble. Anything that has slightly melted has likely re-frozen and ice accumulations continue.
Oncor outages this morning
5:07 a.m. - Out of nearly 4 million customers, the following are being impacted by the winter weather in North Texas:
Active outages — 671
Affected customers — 17,917