Key Highlights
- A car eases through heavy snowfall in Lowville, New York | Photo: APDallas: Freezing rain was falling in parts of Texas on Friday as a huge, dayslong winter storm began a trek that threatened to bring snow, sleet, ice and bone-chilling temperatures as well as extensive power outages to about half the U. S.
- population.
- Forecasters warned that catastrophic damage, especially in areas pounded by ice, could rival a hurricane.
- Schools in Chicago and other Midwestern cities called off classes Friday, airlines canceled thousands of weekend flights, churches moved Sunday services online and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, decided to hold its Saturday night radio performance without fans.
- Carnival parades in Louisiana were canceled or rescheduled.
