Ice storm slams Texas, causing more than 1,300 flight cancellations

DALLAS: An ice storm that hit wide parts of Texas and neighboring states on Monday knocked out power to thousands of people, led to hundreds of traffic accidents and caused more than 1,300 flight cancellations nationwide. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for large parts of northern Texas, including Dallas, southern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. The storm that packed high winds and dumped freezing rain has covered highways in the area with sheets of ice and authorities advising commuters to stay off the roads. At Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, one of the busiest in the United States and a hub for American Airlines, more than 1,000 flights were canceled as of 9 a.m. CST, according to tracking service FlightAware.com. In Tennessee, at least 22 people have been killed in the past few days due to icy, winter conditions, the state's Emergency Management Agency said. Most of the deaths were caused by hypothermia and vehicle accidents. Eleven people have died in Kentucky due to the snow and ice that began pummeling the state on Feb. 16, officials said. Schools were closed on Monday around Dallas and Fort Worth, one of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas, while traffic on highways was sparse, with many staying at home. Iced-over trees knocked down power lines, leaving thousands without electricity, officials said. BreeAnna Moore, 27, decided skip driving to work in Fort Worth after watching live traffic camera footage on television. "I really can't afford to miss a day but then again I don't think it's worth my life or my car trying to make it in," she said. The trial of the man accused of killing Chris Kyle, the former U.S. Navy SEAL who was the inspiration for the movie "American Sniper," was called off on Monday due to ice that coated the Texas city of Stephenville. Salt trucks were deployed in Oklahoma, where about an inch of ice and snow coated roads. In Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal issued a state of emergency late Sunday due to the storm and potentially hazardous travel conditions, and schools and state offices in 23 Louisiana parishes were closed, his office said. Along the East Coast and in northern states, millions of people were in store for another bone-chilling blast of arctic air on Monday following a weekend snow storm, the Weather Service said. -TOI