DALLAS — It's a mess out there!
All of North Texas is currently dealing with sleet, freezing rain and ice, leading to hazardous driving conditions, a host of travel cancellations and the extended closures of major institutions.
We're tracking the latest updates, from the forecast to power outages to road conditions, throughout the week.
Latest DFW Forecast
An ice storm warning was expanded to Dallas and Collin counties, joining the western side of North Texas, on Wednesday morning. The warning was in effect from 6 a.m. Wednesday to 9 a.m. Thursday.
There were no storm warnings in North Texas by Thursday afternoon.
North Texas school closings and delays
North Texas school districts were closed Wednesday and Thursday due to the expected weather conditions.
Many school districts will also be canceled or have a delayed start time on Friday.
Dallas ISD and Fort Worth ISD were among several school districts that will remain closed on Friday due to inclement weather.
DFW Road Conditions
Drivers woke up to icy, slick roads across North Texas on Thursday.
Trash delays
The City of Dallas, along with other municipalities across North Texas, canceled trash and recycling pickup routes on Tuesday.
Dallas said residents could leave their roll carts at their collection pickup until the city decides to resume pickups. Officials were planning to decide later Tuesday about pickup services on Wednesday.
Denton, Arlington, Garland and Richardson were also among the cities that had canceled trash pickup on Tuesday.
Cities were asking residents to leave their trash at their collection points for the next scheduled pickup date after missing Tuesday.
Warming shelters
Warming shelters are opening throughout North Texas as temperatures drop to freezing levels.
On Tuesday afternoon, Dallas officials said around 500 people were making use of their warming shelters throughout the city.
Information below is from the Salvation Army:
Shelters are opened when temperatures reach 36 degrees or below, consistently. Each shelter is following guidelines by the city and the county. Exact protocols may vary depending on location.
- In Collin County, the McKinney Corps and Plano Corps are activated for inclement weather shelter.
- In Dallas County, the Garland Corps and Carr P. Collins Social Service Center are activated for inclement weather shelter.
- In Tarrant County, the Arlington Corps is activated for inclement weather shelter. The J.E. & L.E. Mabee Social Service Center is on standby and prepared to serve families in the area as the need arises.
- In Denton County, the Denton Corps is on standby and prepared to serve families in the area as the need arises. The Lewisville Corps is on standby for inclement weather shelter and additionally supplies staff, transportation, volunteers, and more to the Relevant Life Church, which is the designated overnight cold weather shelter site for the area.
Dallas:
Denton:
All City buildings operating as warming stations are closed. Please go to the Denton Community Shelter Operated by Our Daily Bread, for warming station, meals, and overnight accommodations.
Power Outages
Power outages continued in parts of Texas on Thursday, with around 108,000 customers impacted, according to Oncor's outage map. Most of the outages were coming from Central and East Texas.
DFW, Love Field flights
By 3 p.m. on Thursday, more than 500 flights were canceled into and out of North Texas' two commercial airports, according to the latest Flight Aware statistics.
Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport saw a combined 521 cancellations on flights out of and into DFW, while the smaller Dallas Love Field was at 34.
You can read more about these cancellations here.
DART delays
DART officials told WFAA it was experiencing delays due to "a number of bus and train operators unable or delayed reporting to work this morning, primarily due to hazardous road conditions."
DART said it was "bringing in additional operators, but rail service is currently experiencing significant delays due to the severe weather as well as operator delays."
"We’re asking riders to allow additional travel time to reach their destination, and we recommend that riders avoid traveling if at all possible," officials said.
To stay informed about changes to service, riders should sign up for DART Service Alerts at DART.org, follow updates on social media, or contact DART Customer Service at (214)979-1111.
