AUSTIN (KXAN) – With freezing rain icing roads across Central Texas, traffic incidents to skyrocketed across the Austin metro area Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
There were 267 incidents reported Tuesday, including 194 collisions and urgent crashes, according to real-time traffic incident reports collected by the City of Austin. The Austin area could exceed that crash total Wednesday – Central Texans had already reported 198 traffic incidents before 9:30 a.m., according to the city’s data.
As ice has weighed down tree limbs, thousands of branches have snapped and landed in streets and on power lines and cars. Reported traffic hazards are included in the incident count, and there were nearly 100 reported Wednesday morning.
In the past year, there have been four significant spikes in traffic incidents. The largest spike, on February 24, 2022 – when 319 incidents were reported – coincided with a winter storm and icy conditions.
- 02/24/2022: 319 traffic incidents
- 05/25/2022: 295 traffic incidents
- 01/31/2023: 267 traffic incidents
- 09/08/2022: 251 traffic incidents
