DALLAS (AP) — Get out some extra blankets: Winter is invading Texas with a vengeance as snow, sleet and ice are unleashed on much of northern and western sections of the state.
The National Weather Service forecasts up to 5 inches of snow accumulation Thursday and Friday in the Texas Panhandle and up to 4 inches of snow in the South Plains. To the east, ice from freezing rain will be the threat north of a Brownwood-to-Corsicana-to-Tyler line. As much as a half-inch of ice could accumulate north of a Comanche-to-Grapevine-to-Paris line, bringing down tree limbs and power lines.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has activated the Texas National Guard and deployed equipment and other emergency resources to Wichita Falls and Sherman. The Texas Department of Public Safety discourages non-essential travel in affected areas.
Cancellations, schedule changes:
Several events have been either cancelled or changed due to the weather. Among them, Sen. Ted Cruz’s Leaders in Government speech before the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, originally set for Friday at noon has been rescheduled to Friday, Jan. 17, 2014.