Massive US ice storm leaves 1 dead, snarls air traffic

By Cindi Cook

MICHIGAN, United States (AA) – An ice storm with hazardous conditions and plunging mercury hit parts of the US South and the Midwest on Tuesday, snarling air traffic and claiming at least one life.

The arctic blast hit Texas beginning Monday, with one person left dead in the city of Austin due to a 10-car pileup there, according to news channel CNN. The winter blast is predicted to move from Oklahoma east to West Virginia, where it should arrive on Thursday.

Freezing precipitation along with frigid temperatures started on Monday, with Dallas, Texas closing schools on both Monday and Tuesday. The harsh conditions will last most of the week, hitting both the South and Midwest.

The National Weather Service is urging people to avoid driving if not necessary, and officials are telling the public to be prepared for the worst, including potential power outages. They have said the storm is an "extensive and dangerous ice event with some sleet from Texas to the Tennessee and Lower Ohio Valleys."

Forecasters are warning that ice accumulations of up to a quarter to half-an-inch "are likely" with heavier amounts possible in local areas.

Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee are just some of the other major cities slated to face the storm’s wrath.

As of Tuesday morning, over 1,300 flights were cancelled due to extreme weather, 374 of them out of the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport alone, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware. Over 2,100 delays were reported as well.

The storm is wreaking equal havoc across the Midwest and will do so through Thursday as well.