Two law officers were seriously injured, including a deputy who was pinned under a truck. He had stopped to help the driver of an 18-wheeler that went off an icy highway on Tuesday before being hit by a second truck, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. He is expected to survive.
First responders rushed to hundreds of car collisions, with Gov. Greg Abbott warning travelers to stay off the roads.
1 DEAD IN TEXAS, MORE FLIGHT CANCELLED AS NATIONWIDE ICE STORM RAGES ON
Cars drive down an icy highway as cold weather moves through Dallas, Texas, U.S., January 31, 2023. (REUTERS/Shelby Tauber )
"The roadways are very hazardous right now. We cannot overemphasize that," he told residents.
(L-R) Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management Nim Kidd and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott observe weather patterns during a briefing on January 31, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Gov. Abbott held a meeting and news conference in preparation for the winter storm that is sweeping across portions of Texas. ((Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images))
Arkansas's Interstate 40 was also ice-coated and the Forrest City Fire Department responded to two bad wrecks and 15 other crashes on Tuesday morning. By the late morning, the Arkansas Department of Transportation announced the interstate had cleared.
A vehicle rests on a barricade as the driver lost control and slid off Highway 6 on Tuesday Jan. 31, 2023 in Waco, Texas. Winter weather brought ice to Texas and nearby states Tuesday. ((Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP))
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency due to the storm. In Tennessee, Memphis-Shelby County Schools announced classes would be canceled on Wednesday due to freezing rain and hazardous road conditions.
A Waco police officer works the scene of a four vehicle accident on Highway 6 on Tuesday Jan. 31, 2023, in Waco, Texas. Winter weather brought ice to Texas and nearby states Tuesday. ((Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP))
The weather began Monday as part of several rounds of precipitation expected to hit Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee.
A Bank of America Plaza employee shovels ice and snow from the sidewalks as a cold weather front moves through Dallas, Texas, Jan. 31, 2023. (REUTERS/Shelby Tauber)
The National Weather Service in the Dallas-Fort Worth area said it had set a new daily snowfall record of 1.3 inches, beating one set in 1985.
Pedestrians walk across icy roads as a cold weather front moves through Dallas, Texas, U.S., January 31, 2023. (REUTERS/Shelby Tauber)
"Travel conditions will continue to be hazardous into Wednesday night and Thursday with more sleet and freezing rain expected," the office tweeted. "Temperatures will slowly climb above freezing in central Texas Wednesday night and Thursday morning across most of north Texas."
Watches and warnings had extended up to West Virginia, with impacts expected through Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.