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 The National Weather Service said late Sunday night that a winter
storm warning for most of North Texas had been replaced with a
winter weather advisory through noon Monday. A mix of rain, light
freezing rain and light sleet was expected, but meteorologist Steve
Fano with the weather service's Dallas-Fort Worth office said the
temperatures would not be as cold as initially forecast.
"They will still go below freezing in some places, just not as much
below freezing as we initially thought," Fano said.
Meteorologists said they expected the Arctic mass to head south and
east and threaten plans for Tuesday and Wednesday as people hit the
roads and airports for some of the busiest travel days of the year.
More than 300 flights were canceled at Dallas-Fort Worth
International Airport, representing about one-third of the scheduled
departures, and a spokeswoman said deicing equipment had been
prepared as officials planned for the worst in a flurry of
conference calls and meetings.
"It's certainly going to be a travel impact as we see the first few
people making their way for Thanksgiving," weather service
meteorologist Tom Bradshaw said.
With most of the precipitation expected to occur during the
overnight hours Sunday into Monday, Fano stressed the need for
motorists to be cautious on the roads, especially as they head to
work during the morning rush.
"If nothing else, roads are going to be wet and it's going to be
cold, so caution definitely is advised in traveling," he said.
A mix of rain and sleet began falling north of Dallas on Interstate
35 by midday Sunday. Some elevated overpasses had icy surfaces.
Parts of Oklahoma have been under a winter storm warning, while
other areas of the state have been under an advisory.
Some communities in southwestern Oklahoma woke up to snow Sunday,
including Altus, where several inches fell. "It looks great. I love
the snow," said Damaris Machabo, a receptionist at a Holiday Inn
motel.
The snow and freezing temperatures made driving in the area
treacherous, but Machabo said she had no problems getting to work
early Sunday. Forecasts called for more snow in the area later in
the day.
Portions of New Mexico — especially in some of the higher elevations
— also had several inches of snow, and near whiteout conditions
were reported along stretches of Interstate 40 west of Albuquerque.
Then along the New Mexico-Texas border, into the El Paso area, a mix
of snow, sleet and ice forced some road closures and created messy
driving conditions.
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Flagstaff in Arizona had 11 inches of snow by early Sunday, and was
expected to get another inch by the end of the day before the storm
petered out. Metro Phoenix and other parts of central Arizona
received between 1½ to 2½ inches of rain over the course of the
storm. The storms caused cancellations of sporting events and
parades and damaged the roofs of homes across Arizona.
In Tucson, firefighters on Friday recovered the body of a man who
was swept away by high water in the Santa Cruz River. Tucson police
said Sunday an autopsy revealed signs of trauma, and they were
investigating the death as a homicide. They did not say whether they
had ruled out the storm as a cause of his death.
By early Sunday, the weather was blamed for at least eight deaths in
several fatal traffic accidents. The storm also caused hundreds of
rollover accidents, including one that injured three members of
singer Willie Nelson's band when their bus hit a pillar on
Interstate 30 near Sulphur Springs, about 75 miles northeast of
Dallas.
Dallas prepared for the storm by declaring "Ice Force Level 1,"
which is code for sending 30 sanding trucks to troubleshoot
hazardous road conditions.
At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, spokeswoman Cynthia Vega
said most of the canceled flights were in the afternoon and evening
hours and were with American Airlines and American Eagle. The
possibility of ice on the runways led to a series of conference
calls and meetings early Sunday, she added, noting the airport had
liquid and solid deicers ready for use.
The storm system, though, was particularly hard to predict because a
couple of degrees here or there with the temperature will determine
whether regions see rain, sleet or snow, Bradshaw said.
"It's very difficult to pin those down," he said. "It's slow moving
and it's sort of bringing its energy out in pieces so it's kind of
hard to time these as they come across with a great deal of
accuracy."
[Associated
Press; RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI]
Plushnick-Masti reported
from Houston and can be followed on Twitter at
https://twitter.com/RamitMastiAP.
Associated Press writers
John L. Mone in Dallas, Tim Talley in Oklahoma City and Jacques
Billeaud in Phoenix contributed to this report.
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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