Hundreds of flights have been canceled in Texas, where frigid temperatures have left runways – and roads – dangerously icy.
Ice and snow also shut down interstates in Louisiana and caused highway crashes in Kentucky as the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the Houston area and for parts of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Snow began falling during the pre-dawn hours on Tuesday in Louisiana, where freeways were closed in and around Baton Rouge as the winter weather system took aim at other states, forecasters said.
Dangerous wind chills also prompted school systems to close on Tuesday across Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri.
Some colleges also canceled classes, including Wichita State University in Kansas, where wind chill values were expected to drop as low as minus-13F, The National Weather Service said.
At the University of Texas in Tyler, southeast of Dallas, classes were canceled and Baylor University, in Waco, also had a snow day.
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A winter storm warning was issued for Houston and parts of Louisiana and Mississippi causing hundreds of Texas flights to be canceled (Pictured, snow falls in Tyler on Tuesday)
Mallory Hart holds the hand of her one-year-old son Hart Alvorado as he experiences snow for the first time in Tyler, Texas, after the overnight storm
Snow began falling during the pre-dawn hours Tuesday in Louisiana, where freeways were closed in and around Baton Rouge (Pictured, Savannah Stucker, left, and Loretta Compton throw snow balls at Betty Virginia Park in Shreveport, Louisiana)
Dangerous wind chills prompted school systems to close Tuesday across Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri (Pictured, traffic makes its way north on Highway 7 in Oxford, Mississippi)
Berean Matthews, 11, rides on the back of her father, Steven Matthews, as they sled down a snowy hill on the campus of the University of Texas in Tyler on Tuesday
The winter storm belt is traveling north, making its way from San Antonio, Texas, all the way to Albany, New York
‘Winter Storm Warnings’ were in place in San Antonio and Houston while the rest of the corridor received a ‘Winter Storm Watch’
At least 38 flights scheduled to depart or arrive at the San Antonio International Airport on Tuesday have been canceled.
Meanwhile, in Houston, George Bush Intercontinental Airport announced 528 cancellations and 59 cancellations were made at William P Hobby Airport.
Winter Storm Inga has sent freezing temperatures into Texas with Houston 21F and San Antonio standing at 30F.
Police in Austin say highways in the capital are iced over and several counties opened emergency operation centers to coordinate the emergency response.
Public safety authorities, including Austin Police Chief Brian Manley, are asking residents to avoid driving unless it’s an emergency.
More than 600 flights have been canceled in Texas due to snow and icy conditions, including 38 flights at San Antonio International Airport on Tuesday (pictured)
In Houston, George Bush Intercontinental Airport has announced 528 cancellations (pictured) and 59 cancellations were made at William P Hobby Airport
‘We are seeing more road closures and crashes every hour,’ Manley said via Twitter. ‘Stay off the roads, unless it’s an absolute emergency. The ice patches will sneak up on you.’
The cold front also brought snow to parts of North Texas, where the wind chill pushed temperatures into the single digits.
At 8am, there was a 50 degree temperature between Brownsville in the south at 53F and Amarillo far north at 3F, reported KVUE.
Winter Storm Inga has sent freezing temperatures into Texas with Houston 21F and San Antonio standing at 30F (Pictured, snow covers the ground at a park in Tyler, Texas, on Tuesday)
At 8am, there was a 50 degree temperature between Brownsville in the south at 53F and Amarillo far north at 3F (Pictured, snow blankets a park in Tyler early Tuesday morning)
Public safety authorities, including Austin Police Chief Brian Manley, are asking residents to avoid driving unless it’s an emergency (Pictured, snow and sleet falls in Downtown Dallas on Monday evening)
A truck is stuck sideways on Front Street in Tyler as unusually cold temperatures affect much of the south, forcing schools to close
In Kentucky, multiple crashes closed a 10-mile section of Interstate 24 on the west side of the state and blocked southbound lanes of Interstate 65 in the south-central area, including a five-vehicle pileup that involved a Greyhound bus, authorities said.
In Tennessee, forecasters called for up to six inches of snow in the central part of the state, which includes the Nashville area……Read more
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