250 flights canceled at D/FW

[TexasStooge]

DFW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - More than 250 flights out of D/FW International Airport were canceled Wednesday, as the first blast of winter weather swept across North Texas, bringing an onslaught of freezing rain, sleet and snow.

Airport officials are calling on passengers to check on their flights and warn of delays which could run well into tomorrow.

"Normally when we have something of this magnitude it means it will continue tonight and there will be a backlog which will continue into Thursday," said Ken Capps, DFW airport spokesman.

Almost two dozen area school districts sent students home early because of the deteriorating conditions and a number of churches closed their doors.

"Almost all of North Texas... is under a winter warning," said WFAA-TV (Channel 8) meteorologist Pete Delkus. "A mixed bag of precipitation continues to fall across the area."

"The freezing rain and sleet will change to freezing rain, sleet and snow by the end of the day and some snow showers tonight. Temperatures will fall by the end of the day... into the teens tonight. A quarter to half an inch of ice depending on where you live. Some areas will see a dusting to a covering of snow," he added.

Fort Hood is releasing soldiers and non-essential employees early today so all personnel can go home safely before road conditions worsen.

Meanwhile, Fort Worth garbage collection crews are working hard to complete today’s collections. However, some parts of the city may not be completed today due to icy roads. Workers in Frisco were reported to be booking into hotels to avoid the journey home.

WFAA correspondent Gary Reeves at the Texas Department of Transportation at 3:15 p.m. said most of the 138 monitoring screens showed roads to be clear.

"But at the I-20 the situation is more complex because of a truck wreck at the I-35," he said.

Arlington Police Department reported at 2:20 p.m. that Northbound Collins at Green Oaks and the I-30 exit to Northbound Collins are temporarily closed due to ice and accidents. They said it is unknown how long these roadways will be closed.

Fort Worth police said Wednesday morning they were no longer responding to minor accidents.

They said 59 major and 21 minor accidents and have been reported so far.

In Carrollton, police were reporting sleet. "It’s not sticking," said Sgt. Pat Murphy, a police spokesman. He said that later today, when the brunt of bad weather descends on the area, the department would adjust accordingly.

"We monitor the weather very closely," Sgt. Murphy said. "If we are going to get a lot of snow, we’ll put chains of the tires of the squad cars. If it gets too bad, we’ll post the officers around the city, rather than just having them drive around between calls. We don’t want to be out there sliding around creating problems ourselves."

Road crews with sanding trucks were on standby, but it was likely that any freezing precipitation would create slippery driving conditions, especially on bridges and overpasses.

"Bridges are always going to be a problem," said Ron Shindoll, City of Dallas Street Services. "That will always be the first thing to freeze."

In downtown Dallas, crews planned to use a chemical mixture called MeltDown 20. The mixture reduces the freezing temperature of water, making the streets ice-free longer and, as a result, safer.

Prairie Lights, the city of Grand Prairie’s nightly holiday display in Lynn Creek Park, will not be open Wednesday night.

"We’re anticipating the roads being icy, so we’ve decided to go ahead and cancel it tonight," said Amy Sprinkles, city spokeswoman. "We’re getting about 100 cars a night out there, and we’d hate for them to show up tonight and the gates are closed, so we’re trying to get the word out."

The city had four road crews out monitoring temperatures on bridges using laser thermometers. Once the concrete temperature drops to 32 degrees, workers planned to apply de-icing agent to road surfaces. "We have four sanding trucks ready, and anticipate we’ll start sanding the roads about 4 or 5 p.m.," Sprinkles said. "The crews are working 24 hours. We don’t go home."

Gusty north and northwest winds up to 25 mph will result in wind chill readings in the single digits on Wednesday afternoon.

Firewood lots stayed busy as people sought ways to stay warm before the big freeze.

The city of Dallas said it will enforce the sprinkler ordinance. Homeowners were asked to turn off automatic lawn sprinklers or to make sure the freeze sensor is working.

Other North Texans took precautions around their homes by moving hanging plants inside, wrapping outdoor plants and insulating faucets and plumbing.

Pool service specialist Sebastian George said pool owners needed to drain everything that's above ground if filtration systems are not operating.

"The most important thing to know is to make sure the pool pump is running," George said.

WFAA-TV, WFAA.com, The Dallas Morning News and DallasNews.com contributed to this report.

[nystate]

Sucks for AA, they don't need to lose this money right now...

[ohiostorm]

I work at the Pittsburgh International Airport and I heard they were shut down for some time because of ice. They need to get some de icing machines down there for cases like this. Someone said they dont have any there? Is that true?