2 dead as ice storm slams souther U.S. from Dallas to Memphis - Axios

Satellite representation showing the wintertime upwind stretching from Texas to the Mid-Atlantic. Image: NOAA

The operation of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and Arctic aerial spilling southbound from Canada is resulting successful a long-duration ice storm for millions of people, crossed astatine slightest 8 states.

The large picture: At slightest 2 radical successful Texas person died arsenic sleet, snowfall and freezing rainfall snarled roadworthy and aerial question successful Dallas connected Tuesday. Waves of mixed precipitation are forecast to dispersed northeast with time, lasting done aboriginal Thursday successful immoderate areas.

• Ice tempest warnings were successful effect for portions of central, north, and westbound Texas, occidental Tennessee, bluish Mississippi and overmuch of Arkansas.
• A ample swath of wintertime tempest warnings and upwind advisories were successful effect for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, West Virginia and Virginia.

Zoom in: The National Weather Service warned of "significant impacts" from the freezing rainfall and sleet and thundersleet has been observed, including successful Dallas-Fort Worth.

• Numerous car accidents were reported on the Interstate 35 corridor betwixt Dallas and Oklahoma City Tuesday, and Austin constabulary reported dozens of accidents, including immoderate involving their ain personnel, from midnight done Tuesday morning.
• One idiosyncratic was killed successful Austin aft being progressive successful a postulation pileup Tuesday. Another person, a 45-year-old man, died Monday nighttime aft his conveyance slid into a road guardrail adjacent Dallas amid icy roadworthy conditions, causing him to rotation down an embankment, per AP.
• On Tuesday afternoon, the NWS forecast bureau successful Dallas issued an crystal tempest warning for up to a half-inch of crystal accumulation successful areas westbound of I-35, including Ft. Worth, Denton and Mineral Wells.

Threat level: The wintry mix, which was falling heavy successful immoderate areas, was expected to worsen successful the near-term, arsenic the NWS forecast bureau successful Dallas urged radical to debar question if imaginable until aboriginal Thursday.

• "Multiple rounds of wintry precipitation are forecast, with little lulls followed by bursts of sleet and freezing rainfall that could drastically deteriorate roadworthy conditions," the Weather Service said successful an online forecast discussion.
• Where mostly freezing rainfall was forecast to fall, wide crystal amounts of much than 0.25 inches was expected — with immoderate places picking up arsenic overmuch arsenic 0.75". Ice amounts supra a half-inch tin measurement down trees and powerfulness lines, causing outages.

Of note: The areas astatine top hazard for powerfulness outage looked to beryllium from Little Rock to Memphis, arsenic good arsenic portions of Texas.

• "Significant accumulations of crystal and sleet are expected crossed overmuch of the area, resulting successful wide impacts to question and infrastructure," the NWS forecast bureau successful Memphis stated successful a forecast discussion.
• More than 22,500 customers were without powerfulness successful Texas aboriginal Wednesday, according to PowerOutage.us.

Photo: Texas Department of Transportation via the National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio office/Twitter

Flight delays

• In summation to the treacherous roadways, the wintertime tempest was besides causing aerial question delays that are rippling retired crossed the country.

• Through 9:40 p.m. ET, 1,963 flights within, into oregon retired of the U.S. had been canceled Tuesday. The bulk of flights are coming from oregon going to Dallas Ft. Worth International Airport, according to FlightAware data. At slightest 4,616 flights had been delayed.
• Memphis International Airport, the main hub for FedEx, arsenic good arsenic Austin and Nashville, person besides been seeing galore formation cancellations oregon delays related to the wintertime storm.

Arctic aerial sets records

What's next: The acold aerial liable for the icy premix has been mounting records successful the Rockies and Plains, and by this weekend, 1 of the coldest outbreaks successful years, perchance decades, volition roar into New England.

• Tuesday greeting saw the somesthesia successful Wyoming dip to the minus-30s, and Denver reached a grounds debased of minus-10 connected Monday.
• A portion of the polar vortex successful the little ambiance volition whip from Hudson Bay crossed New England Saturday, sending temperatures plunging amid beardown northwesterly winds.
• Wind chills successful Boston could scope minus-30°F, with minus-50°F upwind chills a anticipation successful bluish New England.
• Fortunately, the Siberian-level acold volition beryllium brief, with temperatures moderating by Monday.

Editor's note: This nonfiction has been updated with further details throughout.