DFW weather updates Thursday: How the roads are looking in Dallas

DALLAS — Make sure to wake up with Greg Fields on Daybreak and watch Pete Delkus on WFAA News at 10 before bed to get the latest.

Winter weather continues throughout North Texas on Thursday, with icy conditions expected to create hazardous conditions on the roads.

Scroll down for the latest updates throughout the day.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and much of the North Texas area remain under a winter storm warning until 6 p.m.

Sleet and freezing rain are the threats with this winter event.

Accumulations of 0.10″ to 0.25″ of a sleet and freezing rain combination are likely for most of North Texas. Higher amounts of ice are possible for areas northeast of D-FW. The areas that see the most ice accumulation will have the highest threat for power outages and tree damage.

Watch WFAA meteorologist Mariel Ruiz’s midday forecast:

The Fort Worth ISD said it will operate on a two-hour delay for students on Friday, Feb. 25. Buses will run on a two-hour delayed scheduled, as well. 

• Elementary schools will open at 9:50 a.m.
• Middle schools will start at 11:15 a.m.
• High schools will begin at 10:25 a.m.  

Staff are being asked to report at the usual time, unless they are transportation employees, who should report two hours later than usual. 

In addition to the delay, all non-UIL after school events on Friday are canceled, including the Fort Worth After School Program. The district said head coaches would update athletes about any change in schedule for games.

The roads weren’t the only place where travel delays were happening Thursday. Lines at DFW Airport were piling up as passengers dealt with delays and weather-related cancellations for the last two days.

DFW still topped Flight Aware’s “Misery Map” with nearly 3/4 of flights delayed or cancelled. As of early afternoon Thursday, there had been 112 delays and 1,122 cancellations at DFW.

At Love Field, which operates many fewer daily flights, there were 41 delays and 202 cancellations.

Some schools announced delays and closures for Friday after another round of ice and sleet Thursday morning. 

DeSoto ISD, Everman ISD, Pilot Point ISD and Spring Creek Academy announced they would still be closed Friday, Feb. 25, due to inclement weather.

• Fort Worth ISD announced it would have a 2-hour delay
• Krum ISD announced it would have a 2-hour delay
• Northwest ISD announced it would have a 2-hour delay
• TCU announced it would have a 2-hour delay
• Weather ISD announced it would have a 2-hour delay

Click here for a full list of school closures and delays.

A Northlake police officer had to be rescued after a crash involving an 18-wheeler on Interstate 35W near Texas Motor Speedway.

The officer was able to walk away with a bloody nose but no other reported injuries, according to the Fort Worth Fire Department, which helped respond to the crash.

It wasn’t immediately clear if weather played a role in the crash, but roads were icy and slick across North Texas.

Firefighters said the 18-wheeler jacknifed after trying to avoid, or getting hit by, a speeding vehicle. The 18-wheeler landed on top of the officer’s vehicle and he had to be cut out of his vehicle, officials said.

With ice comes traffic issues. If you have to be out on the roads Thursday, make sure to check conditions and give yourself plenty of time.

Slow-moving traffic and hundreds of accidents were reported on Wednesday throughout North Texas due to slick roads. And that was expected to be the case on Thursday morning.

Check the latest road conditions here.

In Keller, officials reported seeing cobblestone ice on the roads. Cobblestone ice, which wreaked havoc on North Texas roads in 2013, is when we see partial melting and refreezing of ice and get rock-hard formations on the roadway.

Here’s what our reporters were seeing on the roads early Thursday morning:

In downtown Dallas, WFAA’s crew saw cars struggle to get up the I-30/I-35 mixmaster bridge as the icy surface made it difficult to gain traction.

ERCOT announced Wednesday that it anticipated tight grid conditions through Friday, Feb. 25, due to inclement weather. 

While ERCOT’s projections had the demand nearing the supply around 8 a.m. Thursday, enough of a margin remained through the early morning to keep the grid in good operating condition.

Monitor the grid activity on ERCOT’s website.

ERCOT says to make sure there’s enough generation to sustain the demand during wintry conditions, it had requested that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) “exercise its enforcement discretion with respect to generator exceedances of TCEQ air permit limitations.” 

TCEQ’s enforcement discretion will apply beginning at midnight tonight. Unless TCEQ provides notice otherwise, the period of enforcement discretion will continue until ERCOT issues a notice that it has ended.

On Thursday morning around 7 a.m., there were about 1,200 Oncor customers without power in North Texas but no widespread outages had been reported.

Early voting for the March 1 primary elections ends Friday, Feb. 25. But many polling locations will be closed on Thursday to keep poll workers and residents safe and off the roads, according to officials.

Find your polling places here to check if they are closed.

All Trinity Metro bus routes will run on a Saturday schedule on Thursday, Feb. 24.

All ZIPZONE services are ending at 6 p.m. Wednesday and will restart at 9 a.m. Thursday.

All normal Saturday bus services will operate as scheduled with the following exceptions:

• There will be no service on Molly the Trolley.
• There will be no service on The Dash.
• Route 31/CentrePort Circulator will not operate.
• Routes 23, 30, 111, Burnett Plaza Lunch Line, Express Routes 61, 63, 65, 66 & 67 do not operate on a Saturday schedule, so they will not operate Thursday.
• TEXRail will operate on its regular schedule.
• TRE will operate on a Saturday schedule.
• ACCESS will be available for life-sustaining trips.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit said Wednesday it will be continuing to operate under its winter weather plan through Thursday.

DART rail operations will remain suspended and bus routes will operate on a Sunday schedule — from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Riders can check the bus routes using this link under Operating Scenario 2.