Major ice storm sweeps across U.S., canceling hundreds of flights
CBSN
Winter weather brought ice to a wide swath of the United States on Tuesday, causing the cancellation of more than 1,700 flights nationwide, bringing traffic to a standstill on an interstate through Arkansas and causing crashes that seriously injured two Texas law officers.
As the ice storm advanced eastward on Tuesday, watches and warnings stretched from the western heel of Texas all the way to West Virginia. Several rounds of mixed precipitation — including freezing rain and sleet — were in store for many areas through Wednesday, meaning some regions could be hit multiple times, the federal Weather Prediction Center warned.
Numerous auto collisions were reported in Austin, Texas, with at least one fatality, according to the Austin Fire Department. In Travis County, Texas, which includes Austin, police and sheriff's deputies have been responding to new crashes about every three minutes since 8 a.m., according to the Austin-Travis County Traffic Report Page.
