Rare Dallas Snow, Ice Ground Thousands of Flights Across US

(Bloomberg) -- A winter storm that brought snow to Dallas and threatens the US South with ice and sleet has grounded more than 2,400 flights and is raising the risk of power outages through the region.

As of 4:20 p.m. Dallas time Thursday, 2,409 flights were grounded across the country, with Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and nearby Dallas Love Field accounting for roughly 70% of them, according to FlightAware. 

Some flights into DFW were halted temporarily, according to the Federal Aviation Administration website, and American Airlines Group Inc. said ice was being removed from runways. Aircraft also were being de-iced before leaving. The ground stop was extended to 7 p.m. Dallas time, according to the FAA.

Precipitation ranged from snow around and north of Dallas, to rain and sleet in areas south of city. As much as 2 to 5 inches (5 to 13 centimeters) of snow were expected through the rest of the day, with isolated areas north of the metro area expected to get as much as 8 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Schools were closed across North Texas.

A powerful low-pressure system from the Gulf of Mexico will track across the South before moving off the Carolina coast early Saturday and out to sea without threatening the Northeast, said Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the US Weather Prediction Center. North of the storm’s track a wide area of snow, sleet and ice is expected to fall, while heavy rain will drench the Gulf Coast. Houston that may get as much as 2 inches of rain.

Winter storm warnings, watches and weather advisories stretch from New Mexico to southern Virginia, the National Weather Service said. A large area of 4 to 6 inches of snow is forecast to fall from the Dallas area through Arkansas and into Tennessee and Kentucky. 

The hardest hit areas will likely be eastern Oklahoma and central to northern Arkansas, according to the weather prediction center. 

Transportation troubles may spread Friday as up to 0.1 inch of ice is forecast for the Atlanta area, a major US air hub. In addition to delays in air traffic, federally-funded passenger-rail carrier Amtrak has canceled several trains across Texas and the South, including the iconic City of New Orleans and Texas Flyer.

(Updates flight cancellations and DFW ground stop in first, second and third paragraphs.)

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