Ice Storms Hit Midwest, Texas Causing 26 Deaths
Thousands of people were stuck without lights or heat today during a record cold wave because of the ice storm that coated roads and power lines from Texas into Missouri.
Although parts of the region had bright sunshine this morning, and most of the ice had melted in Texas, the weather has been blamed for 26 deaths since Sunday.
Crews worked through the night to restore electricity to customers who still were without power.
Several thousand customers had no power today in southwestern Missouri, and some of them have been blacked out since Sunday, said White River Electric spokesman Chris Hammon.
Power was knocked out to about 40,000 people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area at one point, but most power was restored by Monday.
“We’ve had ice-laden tree branches come crashing down, we’ve had transformers blow, we’ve had just about everything,” said Stan Whiteford, spokesman for the Public Service Co. in Oklahoma. “Lightning is about the only thing we haven’t had thrown into the mix.”
The icy weather also closed numerous schools, with nearly 100 shut down today in Missouri alone. It was the second day off for youngsters in parts of northeastern Oklahoma, where up to a half-inch of ice remained on the roads.
In the aftermath of the storm, temperatures fell to record-tying lows today in Texas of 32 at Del Rio, on the Mexican border, and 33 at Victoria.
And on the third day of record cold on the northern Plains, Aberdeen, S.D., plummeted to 24 below zero, toppling the old record of 16 below, and Sioux Falls, S.D., bottomed out at 12 below, tying a record that has been on the books since 1898.
Hundreds of air travelers faced delays Monday at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport because of the icy weather. American Airlines said it canceled 87 departing flights Monday.
Traffic accidents caused most of the weather-related deaths, although some died of exposure. Since Sunday, at least 10 weather-related deaths were reported in Texas, seven in Oklahoma, six in Missouri and three in Wisconsin.