Weather leaves some travelers stranded, others brace for icy conditions

The latest wave of winter precipitation has left some travelers stranded in Fort Worth while others navigate icy conditions to reach their destination.

Eric Fink left Austin early Wednesday morning to head to South Dakota, where he said he would visit the national parks.

“Nothing says adventure time like driving a 40 year old car 1,400 miles in an ice storm, but oh well. Should be fun,” Fink said.

AND Winter Storm Warning and Ice Storm Warning remained in effect for parts of North Texas until 9 a.m. Thursday. Fink said he plans to travel to Kansas or Nebraska by the end of Wednesday and reach South Dakota by Thursday.

“Main rule. Don’t take breaks. Don’t take breaks. If you need to slow down, downshift,” he said. “Stay away from everyone else. Give yourself plenty of space. Or, if you’re really smart and don’t know what you’re doing, stay at home.”

For several days, emergency workers have urged drivers to stay off the roads unless the trip is absolutely necessary.

Truck driver Miguel Gomez arrived from El Paso on Monday to deliver the goods. As weather conditions worsened in North Texas, traffic ground to a halt, Gomez said.

“He didn’t move at all. The next thing I know, I’m in a quandary. I just reached over my shoulder. I crashed there,” Gomez said. “I was just about to leave this morning and got stuck. I am stuck”.

The warehouse he delivers to is closed until at least Thursday, Gomez said. His truck has been hit in the same place since Tuesday.

“A little lifting makes it harder. The ice didn’t help,” he said. “Perhaps this is one of the worst. I’ve never been so stuck. I was in Chicago. I’ve been to Milwaukee. You name it. Big cities where big heavy snow fell. I was there. Did this.

For most of the environment, highways in parts of Tarrant County were mostly passable. However, some slippery spots remain. Access roads and side roads were covered with ice, and many parking lots were covered with ice.

Steve Prince is an aircraft mechanic. He’d been working far north in Fort Worth for the past month and was hoping to fly home from the Alliance airport in Beaumont on Wednesday.

” [airport runway] the ramp is like that,” Prince said, referring to the icy gas station parking lot. “It looks like an ice rink. So I think tomorrow will be our best bet.”

The NWS warns that travel may be nearly impossible until Wednesday evening and remain dangerous until Thursday morning.