" />
Tuesday November 5th, 2024 12:39AM

Winter swoops south, bringing freezing rain all the way to Texas

By The Associated Press
DALLAS (AP) -- Freezing rain coated parts of Texas with ice on Monday, leading to hundreds of cancelled flights and a delay in the "American Sniper" murder trial.

Elsewhere, arctic air and snow in parts of New England and New York made for a cold, dangerous commute. More broadly, temperatures are expected to be 25 to 30 degrees below normal across much of the country, said National Weather Service forecaster Jim Hayes.

Here's what's happening:

---

SLIPPERY SOUTH

Up to an inch of ice was possible in parts of North Texas, where more than 900 flights in and out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport were cancelled Monday morning. The weather also prompted at least a daylong delay in the trial of the former Marine accused of fatally shooting former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, whose memoir, "American Sniper," was the basis for the Oscar-nominated movie.

Winter storm warnings and advisories also have been posted in parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

---

CHILL IN THE AIR

Wind chills are forecast to dive below zero in northern parts of the U.S. starting Monday afternoon. The weather service says the wind chill in Bennington, Vermont, could drop to 17 below zero, while Lake Placid, New York, could see minus 30.

In Michigan, actual temperatures dipped to 10 degrees below zero in Saginaw, Bay City and Midland, breaking the area's record of minus 2.

Meanwhile, the Great Lakes are going the way of Niagara Falls: They're freezing over. Lake Erie is nearly totally frozen, and Lakes Huron and Superior are nearly 80 percent frozen, the New York Daily News reports.

---

ALL ABOARD

Boston's transit agency is slowly returning to normal after a series of crippling snowstorms and low temperatures. Most subway and trolley branches had service restored Sunday just in time for the Monday morning commute and buses were running on a regular weekday schedule, though riders may see delays. Commuter rail passengers also were told to expect delays and cancellations.

---

WINTER DANGERS

A man was killed Sunday when he fell through a snow-covered skylight in Canton, Massachusetts. A man and a woman were found dead in the snow outside their rural western Pennsylvania home Sunday afternoon, but their causes of death weren't immediately clear. And in Texas, a 31-year-old Amarillo man died Sunday when he lost control of his car on icy Interstate 27.

About 60 people had to be evacuated from an apartment complex in Hooksett, New Hampshire, after the roof partially collapsed under the weight of snow. No one was hurt there, or in Portland, Maine, where chunks of ice the size of end tables slid off the roof of a five-story building and crashed through the front and rear windows of an unoccupied car Sunday.

The cold also is affecting water mains, with numerous breaks and leaks reported in suburban Washington, D.C., and a few in the Detroit area.

---

MESSY COMMUTES

Snow made for difficult driving conditions Monday along numerous highways in northern and eastern New Mexico, while Colorado's lawmakers were told to stay at home.

A much-needed winter soaking flooded some Southern California streets and dampened the red carpet at the Academy Awards on Sunday. The rain let up around sunrise on Monday, but more showers were expected.

---

UNEXPECTEDLY UNTOUCHED

It's the second least-snowy winter on record in Anchorage, Alaska, according to the National Weather Service. That lack of snow has saved the city about $1 million in snow removal and related public services, the Alaska Dispatch News reports.
© Copyright 2024 AccessWDUN.com
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.