A winter storm system that moved through parts of Texas this week caused icy roads, flight delays, power disruptions and downed trees.
While many Texans dealt with the effects and frustrations of icy conditions, some were quick to make the most out of a chilly situation.
Videos posted on social media showed some people skating and sledding on ice-covered roads. One person even took an airboat for a spin on a road in Princeton, a city in North Texas.
In Lake Dallas, a video posted to Twitter by user @daddyzlambo showed a person skating down an ice-covered street. See that video in the player at the top of the article.
Twitter user Ryan Totka posted a similar video from Dallas. His video shows him gliding down a bumpy street with no cars around. Another video from Totka showed him playing hockey on the same road with another person.
And a video posted by Kevin Roden showed his 14-year-old daughter sliding on a cookie sheet at Texas Woman’s University in Denton.
“Ice + cookie sheet + @txwomans Old Main hill + 14 year daughter = 👌,” he posted
Not all of the conditions in Texas were worth poking fun at, though.
Flights cancelations hampered airports, thousands of people were without power, and at least six people died due to slick roads.
By late Wednesday morning, 2,200 U.S. flights had been canceled, including three-quarters of the flights at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and more than two-thirds at Dallas Love Field, according to the flight tracking service FlightAware.com.
Many flights were also canceled at other airports, including in San Antonio and Austin.
Nearly 260,000 power outages were reported in Texas, including more than 130,000 in Austin, according to PowerOutage, a website that tracks utility reports.
Pablo Vegas, who heads the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, vowed that the state’s electrical grid and natural gas supply would be reliable and that there wouldn’t be a repeat of the February 2021 blackouts, when the grid was on the brink of total failure.
Here’s a look at some of the icy conditions from across Texas:
WEATHER ON-THE-GO
With active weather this week and ice potentially impacting the Hill Country, Your Weather Authority will continue to update you. We’ll send notifications right to your phones, and you can see the forecast and check the radar by downloading the KSAT Weather Authority App for Apple or Android. 📱 Be sure to allow notifications for updates, including livestreams from KSAT meteorologists.
- Read more from the meteorologists on the Whatever the Weather page.
- Download KSAT’s weather app for customized, accurate forecasts in San Antonio, South Texas or wherever you are.
- Find the latest forecasts, radar and alerts on the KSAT Weather Authority page.