Dec 16 2008
Slick Roads Texas Cause 2 Deaths
Source: khou.com
Slick roads led two traffic deaths and caused dozens of accidents in Houston, Texas.
But forecasters say the frozen precipitation is decreasing across North Texas and Houston.
News 8 meteorologist Steve McCauley says DopplerNet radar indicates a gradual decrease in overall coverage and intensity of the freezing drizzle across North Texas.
“However, there are still a few patches scattered across the area which will leave trace amounts of additional ice through early afternoon,” he said. “Temperatures should eventually climb slightly above freezing by mid-afternoon. As the winds turn more to the southeast, humidity levels will increase leading to the formation of dense fog tonight.”
The traffic jams and wrecks started early Monday evening and lasted through the night and returned Tuesday as temperatures stayed well below freezing, while light precipitation continued to fall.
Although amounts will be just a few hundredths of an inch in the immediate Dallas-Fort Worth area, it will be enough to cause hazardous driving conditions, especially on bridges and overpasses.
“In these kinds of events, people go from dry ground onto some wet surface,” said Kelly High, director of Dallas Street Services. “And the wet surface seems okay until they hit a bridge, and then it’s frozen. Everybody should treat the bridges as if their frozen.”
Traffic was reduced to a crawl on many ramps and roads as motorists took precautions. TxDOT said HOV lanes will remain closed this morning.
“Almost every major interchange and bridge has or has had ice on it,” said Kelli Petras, a TxDOT spokeswoman. “Most (parts of) the roadways are clear, but that’s part of the problem … motorists become secure while driving on the roadway, then hit an ice patch on a bridge or overpass and spin out of control.”
TxDOT said it has responded to dozens of accidents overnight. TxDOT spokesman Mark Pettit said accidents were everywhere. When crews cleared up one accident, “Boom! Another one happens somewhere else,” he said.
In Collin County, icy spots were reported along U.S. Highway 75, U.S. Highway 380, State Highway 121 and U.S. Highway 78, according to TxDOT.
The slick roads proved to be even too slippery for crews trying to clear the ice. At least one sand truck was reported to have overturned in Dallas.
Dallas police said they responded to nearly 100 accidents between midnight and 5:30 a.m.
In Tarrant County, TxDOT has 45 vehicles treating bridges and roadways, said TxDOT spokesman Val Lopez. The crews will continue as long as the temperature stays below freezing and icy conditions persist.
“We’re going to have a long day,” Lopez said. “We didn’t get hit as badly as the folk in Dallas.”
The bridges at I-20 and State Highway 360 had to be closed temporarily due to icing. The Arlington Police Department is working with the Texas Department of Transportation to sand the bridges.
There have been at least two weather-related fatalities.
Early Tuesday morning, a Cleburne man died after the Ford pickup he was riding in rolled over in the 5400 block of northbound Interstate 35W in Alvarado. Domingo Juarez, 46, was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead. The driver and another passenger were taken to the hospital.
A 46-year-old Fort Worth man died in Irving after he lost control on an icy road and crashed his 2008 Toyota pickup into a utility pole. Mark Sargent was headed north in the 5900 block of Riverside Drive late Monday, Irving police said. Two passengers were injured.
Alvarado police responded this morning to a fatal single-vehicle accident on U.S. Highway 67 and Interstate 35W, according to dispatchers. It was unclear whether it was a weather-related accident.
As the wintry weather moved in Monday evening, a Dallas fire engine truck got stuck on a bridge south of downtown because of the ice, said Jason Evans, a Dallas Fire Rescue spokesman.
“I think the ice kind of caught everybody off guard,” he said.
The Dallas street services division dispatched 30 trucks to sand major thoroughfares, inclines and bridges throughout the city late Monday afternoon.
“We can coat 340 football fields if we sand every route that we have,” said Dennis Ware, a Dallas Street Services division official.
Ware saw firsthand the mess that the weather created.
“For the most part, it’s fender benders and individuals driving too closely to one another when you’re making a stop to turn,” he said Monday night.
American Airlines reported moderate delays at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport but no cancellations. Southwest Airlines reported no delays or cancellations as of 7 a.m. Dallas Love Field runways were open for arrivals and departures, a city of Dallas spokesman said.
Several school districts announced closures or delayed openings. However, both Dallas and Fort Worth school districts opened at their regular times. Check school delays and closings
In Frisco, administrators decided to close classes after first delaying two hours. It caused confusion for some parents and students.
A district spokeswoman says because they rely on weather conditions and not forecasts, the decision was made in the best interest of students and employees.
Oncor reported 650 power outages through Tarrant and Dallas counties and a spokesperson said ice was not causing any major problems.
WFAA.con user Curt Wilson posted this picture of his brother, Tyler, jumping on a trampoline covered with ice .
There will be reward for the winter blast. McCauley says conditions will improve rapidly over the next couple of days.
“Southerly winds should lift temperatures to near 50 degrees for Wednesday and well into the 60s to near 70 for the rest of the week,” he said.
Our next arctic cold front is due to arrive Saturday night making for a very windy and cold Sunday, McCauley said.
Alas, the relief is only temporary and winter doesn’t even officially start until next week.
