As much as 10 inches of heavy, fluffy, sticky snow blanketed North Texas on the first full day of spring. You'd have to go back 73 years to find this much snow so late in the season, the National Weather Service said.
Collin County appeared to get the most accumulation. "An upper-level low got east of Collin County and stopped," explained WFAA-TV meteorologist Steve McCauley.
More than five inches of snow was measured in Frisco Sunday morning, with impressive totals at a number of locations [CLICK FOR MAP], although not all measurements are official:
- 10.1" Anna
- 8.0" Richardson
- 7.0" McKinney
- 6.1" Wylie
- 6.0" Farmersville
- 5.0" Little Elm
- 5.0" Rockwall
- 4.0" Plano
- 3.1" Rowlett
- 2.8" Mesquite
- 2.4" Grapevine
- 1.5" Executive Airport Dallas
- 1.3" D/FW Airport
- 1.2" Keller
- 0.1" Fort Worth
WFAA-TV Chief Meteorologist Pete Delkus said he had received some unofficial reports of up to nine inches of snow in portions of Collin County.
The 1.3 inches of snow measured at the official Dallas-Fort Worth reporting station early Sunday shattered the previous March 21 snowfall record of 0.4 inches set in 1970.
The 2009-2010 winter season is now officially the second-snowiest ever in North Texas, with a total accumulation of 17.1 inches. The all-time record was set in 1977-1978 with 17.6 inches.
The precipitation froze on many area bridges and overpasses, leading to accidents and road closures as the Texas Department of Transportation and local authorities struggled to get sand trucks to trouble spots.
Police believe ice could be to blame for a deadly pileup in Arlington early Sunday. Police spokeswoman Tiara Ellis Richard said it involved as many as five vehicles and two 18-wheelers in the westbound lanes of Interstate 30 at Fielder Road at 6:30 a.m. Richard said it appeared that one of the 18-wheelers toppled onto another vehicle, killing one person.
At least one person was killed after walking away from a car accident on the interchange ramp from East Loop 820 to Interstate 30 in Fort Worth overnight. Police believe the man was struck by another vehicle, knocking him off the overpass onto the freeway below. A woman who was with him was not injured. The man's name has not been released.
The High Five interchange at North Central Expressway and LBJ Freeway was closed for two hours.
A motorcyclist on Central was injured Sunday morning when his bike skidded on an icy patch near an earlier accident involving two taxicabs.
Dallas County reported 165 accidents overnight, about half of them considered to be major. At least 50 major and minor accidents were reported in Garland; Richardson reported 30 wrecks.
Texas drivers who need road condition information can call the TxDOT Hotline at 800-452-9292.
Planes were being de-iced at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and at Dallas Love Field. There were five flight cancellations at D/FW as of 9 a.m., but airport spokesman David Magana said motor vehicle accidents were a bigger problem. Magana said there had been a dozen minor wrecks, including one involving a bus that slid sideways on a slick road surface and was struck by another vehicle.
A spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines reported no problems with their operations at Love Field.
The same storm produced blizzard-like conditions in parts of Oklahoma. Seven-year-old Cheyanne Rhodes of Fort Worth was killed in a traffic accident on I-35 south of Guthris.
Troopers said the driver of the car she was in was distracted by a cell phone call and over-corrected on the slick highway. The vehicle rolled over; Cheyanne was not wearing a seat belt.
"A very interesting first day of spring," Delkus concluded, adding that this will all be a memory by Tuesday, when temperatures are forecast to rebound into the 70s.
E-mail wzwirko@wfaa.com
