The hashtag #icepocalypse seems a little #overthetop given the thin layer of ice many woke up to, but the wintry mix is no laughing matter for millions in the Lone Star State.
In San Antonio, Texas Public Radio’s Joey Palacios says the city is essentially shut down. City and county government offices, and school districts are all closed.
Palacios says there have been a number of accidents on city streets, and many highways and bridges were closed at some point during the night and early morning.
“Whenever San Antonio gets an ice event like this, it’s very common for the city to shut down. It probably happens about once a year or so, where people just have to take a bit of a step back because the roads are too dangerous to drive on,” Palacios says.
In Tyler, the icy conditions combined with a layer of snow, making driving treacherous, says Allison Pollan, editor for the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
“We’ve got police responding to all sorts of spinouts, wrecks, cars stuck, can’t get traction,” Pollan says. “So they’re advising everyone to avoid the roads if at all possible.”
Pollan says Tyler got an inch of snow Monday night, an unusual event for the north Texas city. Freezing temperatures are anticipated to continue through Tuesday night.
In Houston, ice covers high flyover-ramps for highways on the west side of town, says Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist for Harris County. Roadways affected include Westpark Tollway, Grand Parkway, and Highway 290.
As freezing temperatures move south and east, ice is expected to coat highways all the way to the coast and along the I-10 corridor. Lindner says rain and sleet are continuing.
Lindner doesn’t expect temperatures to rise above freezing until well into Wednesday morning.
Written by Shelly Brisbin.
