Winter Advisory Targets Southeast Texas

Officials in Southeast Texas are preparing for icy conditions as a cold front could bring sleet, freezing rain and possibly snow in cities as far south as Houston.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for the Houston, Austin and San Antonio areas until midday Tuesday.

North Texas cities like Dallas and Fort Worth won't have to deal with the freezing precipitation, but have felt cold temperatures blanket the area including wind chills dropping into the teens.

The Houston Independent School District, the state's largest with more than 210,000 students, plus schools in Beaumont, Galveston and Fort Bend canceled classes Tuesday due to the threat of inclement weather. Government offices and buildings and courts in Houston as well as in Harris and Galveston counties will also be closed. Central Texas could also see light freezing rain, sleet and possible snow on Tuesday.

The Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Public Safety are monitoring roadways.

Air travelers have hundreds of reasons to be frustrated by the winter storm as flights have been delayed or canceled to many southern states. At Dallas-Fort Worth airport, dozens of flights were delayed or canceled early Tuesday morning, according to FlightAware.com. Over 2,000 flights have been canceled in the US today, according to the website.

Power is another challenge, as cold temperatures can tax systems and equipment. Once an outage does occur, residents aren't just in the dark — they're in the cold. For about 150 people who lost power in Everman on Tuesday morning, that cold was a bitter reminder that this "polar vortex" is a big chill.