A winter storm warning is in effect through Thursday for North Texas.
Travel and icy conditions shouldn't get any worse Wednesday afternoon, but will deteriorate in the evening when more precipitation arrives, according to Matt Bishop, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.
“It gets a little bit heavier when we get into Wednesday night and Thursday, as that main upper level system starts to move across the area, and I think that's when we'll start to see some ice accumulations on even the main roads,” he said.
Some North Texas schools have canceled after-school activities or closed early on Wednesday, and some are announcing closures for Thursday.
Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Arlington and Mansfield ISDs are closed Thursday. Collin College, TCU and UT Arlington are also closed Thursday. Find more closures here.
Conditions should improve slightly later Thursday, but leftover moisture on the roads could refreeze overnight into Friday.
Meanwhile, the forecast of freezing temperatures has forced hundreds of flight cancellations and delays in North Texas.
Flightaware.com reports more than 800 flights in and out of DFW International Airport have been cancelled Wednesday; at least 96 flights have been canceled in and out of Dallas Love Field.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit has suspended rail operations Wednesday due to the winter weather. DART has also switched bus service to a Sunday schedule.
Officials in Dallas say icy weather will lead to dangerous road conditions at least through Thursday.
Rocky Vaz, the city's director of emergency management, said trucks will continue sanding roads to prepare for icy conditions.
"They are sanding all of our critical infrastructure, all of our Dallas Fire-Rescue fire stations, police stations, our auto pound, paying attention to our medical district and our hospitals that need to get vehicles in and out quickly," he said.
Vaz encouraged residents to stay off the roads as much as possible.
Crews are on standby to respond to any weather-related power outages, he said.
KERA's Domini Davis and Galilee Abdullah contributed to this report.
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