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David Simpson and
Lateef Mungin
November 24, 2013
(CNN) — A deadly winter storm that began in Southern California and stretches to Texas threatens to wreck Thanksgiving week travel plans all the way to the Atlantic.
At least five people have lost their lives in traffic crashes blamed on the storm system since late last week.
An arctic air mass is expected to keep temperatures 15 to 20 degrees below normal along the East Coast through Thursday. Even if the system fails to deliver heavy snow, it could cause air travel disruptions with high winds, forecasters say.
Airlines flying in and out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport “pre-canceled about 300 departures to reduce the number of stranded travelers” Sunday in “anticipation of winter precipitation,” the airport’s official Twitter account said.
Wild weather out West
Three travelers died when nine tractor-trailer trucks and two cars slid into each other on icy Interstate 40 in northwest Texas late Friday, according to Texas State Trooper Chris Ray.
The dead included passengers in each of the cars and one of the truck drivers, who was struck by one of the cars after he left his cab, Ray said. Several other people were critically injured and taken to hospitals 35 miles away in Amarillo, Texas, Ray said.
At least 20 people were taken to local hospitals from collisions within three miles of the fatal pileup, according to Oldham County, Texas, Sheriff David Medlin.
“We have about 4 inches of snow on the ground,” Medlin told CNN on Sunday. “Road conditions are still dangerous, and people should drive cautiously and avoid roads unless absolutely needed.”
A 4-year-old girl was killed Friday when a car carrying her slid off icy U.S. Highway 70 in New Mexico, said the state Department of Public Safety. The child was not properly restrained, the department said.
In Yuba County, California, a 52-year-old passenger in a car died when a tree fell on top of the vehicle Thursday, the county sheriff’s office said.
Ice is blamed for causing Willie Nelson’s band bus to spin out of control and crash into a bridge pillar on Interstate 30 near Sulphur Springs, Texas, early Saturday. Three of the five members of Nelson’s band were hurt, according to police and the band. Nelson was not on board.
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