Texas ice storm updates: Over 350,000 customers without power

Millions of people are on alert for dangerously cold weather, ice and flooding.

ByEmily Shapiro and Morgan Winsor
Last Updated: February 1, 2023, 5:28 PM EST

A massive ice storm is freezing Texas and the southern United States on Wednesday.

Some 60 million people in 22 states -- from New Mexico to Maine -- are on alert for dangerously cold weather, ice and flooding.

Freezing rain and sleet are in the forecast from Texas to Tennessee, before slowly transitioning into just rain as temperatures warm up late Wednesday into Thursday.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 01, 2023, 4:18 PM EST

Over 350,000 without power in Texas

More than 350,000 customers are without power in Texas on Wednesday afternoon as a massive ice storm slams the South.

Frozen power lines are seen hanging near a sidewalk, Feb. 1, 2023 in Austin.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Frozen power lines are seen hanging near a sidewalk, Feb. 1, 2023 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Feb 01, 2023, 2:06 PM EST

Latest forecast

Officials are urging residents to avoid travel across much of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi as the dangerous ice storm coats roadways.

Tina Yeung, 32, waits for paramedics in the back of a Lyft Ride vehicle on Feb. 1, 2023 in Austin.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

An accident involving an overturned 18-wheeler on Toll road 290 in north Austin stopped all traffic both ways, Jan. 31, 2023 in Austin Texas.
Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman-USA Today

On Wednesday evening, another wave of freezing rain and sleet will move in across much of Texas, leading to additional ice accumulation and significant travel concerns.

By Thursday morning, the ice and rain will be ongoing from Texas to Mississippi. A forecast of 1 to 3 inches of rain has prompted flood alerts in the lower Mississippi River Valley.

Feb 01, 2023, 12:54 PM EST

Pistons stuck in Dallas, Wizards vs. Pistons game postponed

Wednesdays night’s basketball game between the Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons has been postponed because the ice storm has stranded the Pistons in Dallas.

The Pistons were in Texas for a Monday night game, and now the weather conditions are preventing the team from returning home, according to the NBA.

Bank of America Plaza employees shovel ice and snow from the sidewalks as a cold weather front moves through Dallas, Jan. 31, 2023.
Shelby Tauber/Reuters

Feb 01, 2023, 12:32 PM EST

Dallas airports face major flight cancellations

More than 2,200 flights have been canceled amid the storm.

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport has canceled 75% of its flights while Dallas Love Field Airport has called off 68% of its flights.

-ABC News’ Sam Sweeney

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