Storm leaves 5,000 homes with no power

[TexasStooge]

From WFAA ABC 8 Staff Reporters

Thousands of people in Kaufman County are without power following last night's winter storm.

Ice downed power lines in Crandall and Combine which caused more than 5,000 homes to black out. Outages were also reported in the Canton and Carroll Springs areas.

Repairs are currently underway. A Combine resident told News 8 the power had been off since 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Icy roads and the bitter cold have created chaos across North Texas in the wake of the season's first winter storm, although conditions do seem to be improving.

Students in Dallas, Fort Worth and many other school districts got a day off after administrators decided to keep classrooms closed because of transportation problems.

An 18-wheeler wreck burst into flames on the I-20 at Bonnieview in Southern Dallas at about 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, blocking the whole eastbound highway. The vehicle - carrying parcels - had reportedly crashed into a news organization's truck. The driver of the 18-wheeler has been taken to hospital.

Authorities say the truck driver, 25, lost control on the ice.

Outbound flights at D/FW International Airport are mostly on time but many inbound flights are delayed, as a result of bad weather elsewhere in the country.

"We brought out some cots last night. We'd bought the cots for the Hurricane Katrina but they really paid off last night. Outbound flights are now great," DFW spokesman Ken Capps said.

DART bus and train services are running as usual, although some bus delays were reported at 2:45 p.m., as a result of the poor road conditions.

"The snow and sleet is over but we do have to put up with cold temperatures, record cold temperatures tonight," said WFAA's meteorologist Greg Fields. "Tomorrow, it's still going to be chilly but nice and warm compared to today and temperatures will rise on the weekend."

Highway crews worked overnight to salt and sand slippery road surfaces, some of which were coated with a layer of glare ice, but there were several major bottlenecks before the Thursday morning rush hour due to weather-related accidents.

Fort Worth police said they received 2,145 accident reports between 4 a.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday. There were no fatalities, but 90 people were injured in the wrecks.

A jackknifed trailer shut down southbound Interstate 35E between I-20 and Bear Creek Road in southern Dallas County. A similar wreck closed southbound I-45 at Bear Creek Road in Red Oak.

Streets in Plano were reported mostly clear, but with many dangerous icy spots. News 8 found several locations where home sprinkler systems went off overnight, leaving lawns caked in ice and the runoff glazing the roadway.

Newspaper carrier Richard Perez surveyed the city streets in Fort Worth early Thursday and declared, "It's not too bad; it's the wind that makes things a little cold."

That was an understatement to many commuters, who walked out the front door to be blasted with temperatures in the upper teens and low 20s and the wind made it feel like the mercury was in the single digits.

The Fort Worth Transportation Authority said full bus service would be provided Thursday on the "T," although commuters were warned that delays are possible.

The Trinity Railway Express added an extra train Wednesday from Union Station in Dallas to Fort Worth for people who didn't want to drive.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit said some bus routes may experience delays or changes as drivers cope with changing road conditions.

Fields said there will be a big improvement in North Texas weather by the weekend, with sunny skies and highs in the 60s.

WFAA-TV reporters Steve Stoler in Plano, Rebecca Rodriguez in Fort Worth and Cynthia Vega in Hutchins and [url=http:wfaa.com]WFAA.com[/url] editor Walt Zwirko in Little Elm contributed to this report.