D-FW temps are above freezing for first time since Sunday

Temperatures in Dallas-Fort Worth climbed above freezing for the first time in more than three days Thursday, according to the National Weather Service, signaling the end of a winter storm that blanketed the region in ice.

DFW International Airport recorded a temperature of 33 degrees at noon. It is the first time the airport has been above freezing since 7pm on Sunday – marking 89 consecutive hours of temperatures at or below freezing.

Non-essential travel should still be avoided Thursday as North Texas slowly begins to thaw from the winter storm that brought life to a standstill for much of the week.

While road conditions may improve in the afternoon as temperatures gradually rise above freezing, muddy and wet surfaces may refreeze and lead to slick and icy spots during the Friday morning commute.

The temperature as of 6:30 a.m. Thursday hovered right around freezing — 32 degrees — with the day’s high expected around 35 and low expected at 29, according to the National Weather Service. Light freezing rain is still forecast.

Melting ice from a roof in Arlington, Texas, formed a glacier, February 2, 2023. (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer) Related: Texas is buried under ice. When can you drive safely?

Temperatures at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport reached 33 degrees midday Thursday — marking the first time since Sunday that the region has seen temperatures above freezing.

The region recorded 89 consecutive hours of temperatures at or below freezing, according to the National Weather Service.

After freezing temperatures and slick roads essentially shut down the region’s two major airports Tuesday and Wednesday, DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field slowly returned to more normal operations Thursday morning.

But American Airlines and Southwest Airlines still canceled nearly 550 flights in and out of the two airports, bringing the total cancellations as of Monday to 4,200.

Travelers are encouraged to check with their individual airlines before going to the airport.

DART urged commuters to seek alternative transport after its rail service suffered major delays on Thursday morning.

An alert from DART asked passengers to “allow a significant amount of travel time” to reach their destination if using the rail service.

DART has been able to continue operating most of its services during the winter storm.

Two Fort Worth police officers narrowly avoided serious injury after their patrol car was struck by an out-of-control tractor-trailer Thursday morning.

Officers were responding to a crash around 2:30 a.m. on Interstate 30, according to the department. A knife trailer hit the car while one of the officers was inside.

The officer escaped the car before it was hit again. Both officers fled in between.

They were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Icy roads were to blame for at least seven deaths in Texas during the course of the storm, the Associated Press reported Thursday morning.

Locally, one of these deaths occurred in Arlington in the early stages of the storm. A 45-year-old man died Monday after his SUV slid into a guardrail in slick conditions.

Weather and government officials asked people to stay off the roads until Thursday morning.

In Fort Worth, Medstar responded to four crashes between Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. The ambulance service has responded to more than 170 accidents since the start of the storm, transporting 53 people to the hospital.

Hypothermia has caused 22 people to be sent to the hospital since the beginning of the storm, 10 of them in serious condition according to the ambulance service.

Nearly 30 patients were injured by slipping and falling on the ice.

Related: Your Ultimate Guide to Surviving Winter Weather in Dallas Fort-Worth

Nearly 4,000 active power outages were reported across Texas, affecting more than 140,000 homes and businesses, according to Oncor.

Most of the outages were centered around Austin, where about 50,000 Oncor customers were without power. Also in Austin, about 150,000 Austin Energy customers were also left in the dark.

Dallas-Fort Worth saw about 13,000 homes and businesses without power, while another large amount of outages — about 42,000 customers without power — was reported in Tyler, according to Oncor.

Related: Here’s how to track ERCOT live as demand surges on Texas’ power grid