Icy Conditions Lead to Power Outages in Western, Northern Counties

Thousands of homes were reportedly without power after ice coated large swaths of Parker, Wise, Tarrant, Grayson and Collin counties Wednesday and into Thursday morning.In Johnson County, the Chisholm Trail Parkway between Farm-to-Market Road 913 and FM917 in Burleson was closed after nine crashes occurred in the area because of ice on a bridge, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.One crash involved five cars at once, but no injuries have been reported, DPS officials said.In Parker County, more than 7,300 homes were without power, mainly in Aledo, KDFW-TV (Channel 4) reported.Grayson-Collin Electric Cooperative General Manager and CEO David McGinnis sent out a message to customers Wednesday evening alerting them to power issues.The northern parts of the co-op's service area received significant ice damage, McGinnis said in an email, and crews were laboring to make repairs."Tree limbs have been breaking from the weight of ice all day, and if the temperatures drop with nightfall, they will continue to fall," McGinnis' message read. Additional crews were expected to assist in power restoration Thursday morning, McGinnis said in his email to customers.It was unclear how many co-op customers were without power.In Parker County, snow plows took to the road to try to clear the ice, Fox4 reported. A winter advisory remains in effect for northern and western counties on Thursday, with most of the Dallas-Fort Worth area expecting another day of cold rain with temperatures above freezing.  Continue reading...