Memphis, Tenn : Millions hunkered down for icy conditions expected to last through the weekend from Texas to Ohio to Tennessee as a cold snap covered much of the nation, knocking out power and making roads treacherous Saturday.
Face-stinging sleet, thick snow and blustery winds led to slick road conditions, school closures and event cancellations as the wintry blast dropped temperatures to freezing and below overnight Saturday.
A treacherous section of icy Interstate 35 about 50 miles north of Dallas has been closed intermittently for as long as five hours as tractor-trailers were unable to climb a hill and then clog the busy highway, Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman Michelle Releford said Saturday. The backup can extend for miles.
Three traffic-related deaths were reported, one in Arlington and two in Oklahoma.
And about 117,000 customers in the Dallas area were without power Saturday morning and more than 350 departing flights from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport had been cancelled in the morning, the airport said. About 3,330 passengers had stayed overnight in the terminals.
In California, four people died of hypothermia in the San Francisco Bay Area while the region was gripped by freezing temperatures.
Freezing rain and sleet are likely again Saturday night in Memphis, Nashville and other areas of Tennessee before the storm starts surging northeast.
"It looks like we're going to be stuck with this for one, two, maybe three days," said Memphis attorney Sam Chafetz, who was going home early to enjoy some bourbon-soaked sweet potatoes left over from Thanksgiving.
"I'm not afraid of the ice and snow, I'm afraid of the other drivers who don't know how to drive in it," Chafetz said.
Virginia officials warned residents of a major ice storm likely to take shape Sunday, resulting in power outages and hazards on the roads.
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