Dallas was hit with freezing temperatures this week that caused school and building closures and left many people without electricity. There was an ice storm warning in Tarrant, Denton, Dallas, and Collin counties.
Fox 4 Weather meteorologist Evan Andrews said:
"Yesterday was kind of the sleet day. Today is kind of the ice day. It’s not going to be for everybody but there’s gonna be ice."
The weather was so bad it grounded Detroit Pistons who were scheduled to fly out from Dallas to their next game against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, February 1.
Pistons head coach Dwayne Casey said:
"We were sitting on the plane waiting. In the end, it was so icy that the planes couldn't get out of Love Field."
For the fourth day, over 500 flights out of Dallas have been canceled. US Airlines has canceled about 3,000 flights according to BBC News including Dallas and Austin.
Governor Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday:
"The State of Texas is working around the clock to keep Texans safe and warm over the course of this severe winter weather and flooding event. Texans are urged to remain weather-aware and stay off the roads if possible. If driving is absolutely necessary, motorists can check DriveTexas.org to receive the most up-to-date road conditions. I thank all of our emergency response personnel across the state who are braving the severe weather to keep their fellow Texans safe."
Despite his best effort, thousands of homes were without power. In Texas, 407,000 people lost power. In the capital, 162,000 people lost power.
Many facilities in Dallas were closed due to the winter weather and icy road conditions.
On Monday, ERCOT reported that they didn’t expect any power outages and that the grid could handle the freezing weather. Some of the power outages caused by ice freezing on electrical lines aren’t related to the grid.
Weather is expected to go above freezing today but ice may still be on roads.
Here is Thursday's forecast:
Do you think ERCOT failed even though they claim it wasn’t their fault?
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