Crash claims victim on icy night

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Out of hundreds of crashes reported Friday, one turned out to be fatal.

It happened just before midnight on southbound I-35 near Grand Avenue Parkway in Pflugerville.

A 19-year-old man from Plano was driving a Nissan Altima with three others in the car, he lost control, crashed into an 18-wheeler that was next to him, then hit the retaining wall.

Stephen Kendall died at the scene, his three passengers were hurt.

The crash caused another car to skid out into a ditch, but that driver and the semi driver were both OK.

Viewers as far apart as Leander, Bastrop and Granite Shoals reported snow or some combination of wintry mix. Snow appears to be falling within the Austin city limits from the far north end of town to reports of snow falling along Westgate Boulevard. 

Snow and sleet rained down on Williamson County cities, parts of Travis and into the Hill Country on Thursday evening - accumulating quickly on an already frozen ground and slowing schools and community services.

The National Weather Service by 10 p.m. upgraded the Austin area to a Winter Storm Warning that is expected to last until Friday at noon.

In the meantime, Mexico has canceled its offer to provide electricity to Texas because of severe cold in Mexico's own territory. Texas was going to get additional power to help prevent rolling blackouts that happened throughout the state on Wednesday.

Sleet and snow made porches slick in Circle C and stuck to cars in Bee Cave. Freezing rain showed up in South Austin near Bedichek Middle School, and snow collected on decks and lawns in Leander and Georgetown.

Cars crashed and flipped on Interstate 35 north of Austin, US Highway 77, and on Airport Boulevard. Rollovers were reported every few minutes as ice made the roads slick.

More than a dozen flights out of ABIA were canceled Thursday and some flights Friday morning are also canceled.

Reports of snow in Georgetown and Leander trickled in around 8 p.m. as a winter storm system continued to develop over northern Mexico and tracked northeast across Texas Thursday night.

Sleet was reported in Liberty Hill around 8:20 p.m. By 8:30, sleet and snow were reported in Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander, Walburg, Burnet County, Horseshoe Bay, Bud, and Kingsland. Elgin followed shortly after.

"In Granite Shoals, we're getting small white ice pellets mixed with snow flurries," Linda Potts wrote in. "The ice pellets are just beginning to build up on the ground. ... You can see the pellets and hear them falling along with the snow flurries. The pellets started about 8:20 pm, and the flurries started to mix in around 8:40 p.m. The ground and my deck are crunchy with the pellets as you walk across it."

Bands of snow are expected to develop in addition to the sleet, then increase through the night, before ending Friday morning.

Sleet was reported south of San Antonio at 8 p.m. as well, moving slowly northward.

East of Austin, a winter storm warning has been issued, which means two to three inches of snow could fall, likely causing significant travel problems overnight through Friday morning.

This warning included all of the KXAN viewing area in counties east of IH-35.

This storm will move rapidly away from the area Friday, allowing temperatures to warm above freezing for the first time in more than 72 hours.

Milder weather is forecast this weekend, but more arctic air is poised to return early next week.

The time from midnight to 6 a.m. Friday is when the most impact from the storm hits South Central Texas. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from midnight until noon Friday mainly along and west of I-35, where total accumulations will range from a dusting to near 1 inch. Counties to the east of I-35 are under a Winter Storm Warning until noon Friday. These areas should expect higher amounts of snow, maybe as high as 1-3 inches.

Models are showing that the snow threat will be ending from SW to NE across the region by early Friday morning. There may be some lingering road effects through the morning hours especially over the eastern half where snow totals are expected to be highest. Temperatures should warm above freezing for at least a portion of Friday afternoon, allowing for some melting to take place.

With temperatures expected to drop below freezing again Friday night, less traveled roads may still be wet and thus experience some icing problems as melted snow refreezes.

For the latest information on watches/warnings/advisories and our graphics visit the National Weather Service website .