© Michael Hamtil / Staff
A lone pedestrian crosses the snowy, windswept DART tracks on Bryan Street Wednesday morning in downtown Dallas.
The arctic cold that sent temperatures tumbling Wednesday and left streets and highways treacherously slick with sleet and ice will continue Thursday with record low temperatures overnight - in the single digits some places - and more icy road conditions.
From 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Dallas police responded to more than a dozen accidents on North Central Expressway and LBJ Freeway. Althought most of the exposed freeway roadways are clear, ice remains dangerous underneath bridges and overpasses.
Conditions on highways deteriorated throughout Wednesday as sleet and snow fell - up to 3 inches in McKinney, which was among the hardest-hit spots locally. A winter storm warning is in effect through 6 p.m.
School officials were already making plans for the freezing weather overnight.
Frisco, McKinney and Allen ISDs said they would open on a two-hour delay on Thursday, while other area districts are so far opting to wait until Thursday morning to make a decision.
Southern Methodist University , which had been open during the day, canceled Wednesday night classes at its Dallas and Plano campuses. A decision regarding Thursday will be announced in the morning.
But even though afternoon temperatures will struggle to reach the freezing mark, Thursday should be the end of the brutally cold weather across the Dallas area for the next week to 10 days, forecasters said.
