Hazardous wintery weather conditions are expected to disrupt travelers in and around Houston who are taking to the skies and nearby roadways, trying to reach their destinations on Tuesday.

An Arctic blast took full force on the area on Monday, keeping temperatures below 30 degrees for most of the day and bringing a mixture of sleet, freezing rain and small snowflakes to the region with the front.

According to Space City Weather, icy precipitation was expected to move out of the Houston area on Monday night. However, with subfreezing temperatures settling in Tuesday morning, streets already iced over could continue to pose a risk for drivers.

These include roads along U.S. 59/Interstate 69 and Highway 6 near the Fort Bend Tollway, among others, particularly any elevated highways and bridges. This is contingent on how much ice is already on their surface, the effectiveness of the city’s de-icing measures and sunshine that could break through the clouds on Tuesday.

Local officials have urged anyone who can to stay home on Tuesday and nearly all area schools are closed for the day. In addition, the city's municipal courts are closed as well as universities in the Houston area.

The leftover frozen slush, coupled with continued wind gusts up to 20 or 25 mph, could also affect flight operations after the spike in delays and cancellations that occurred into Monday evening. The ground stop of United Airlines flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport issued earlier was extended twice as of Monday night.

According to Flight Aware, delays and cancellations had reached triple digits at Bush on Monday evening. The live flight status tracker operated by Collins Aerospace reported 360 delays and 487 cancellations. At William P. Hobby Airport, the tracker indicated that delays and cancellations increased to 132 and 49, respectively.
The Houston Airport System had the equipment necessary to de-ice pavement in the airfields and along the roadways near the city’s two airports. But it wasn’t until Winter Storm Uri occurred in 2021 that the facilities were supplied with heavier-duty equipment, such as snow plows, to clear paths and taxiways immediately so the airports could remain in operation.

To try to mitigate any reasons for future delays and cancellations and prepare for the continued wintery weather, Houston airports de-iced taxiways and pathways, wrapped exposed piping and protected water sources that serve aircrafts.

According to Houston Airports, the city’s airport system is working with Houston Public Works to monitor and treat roadway overpasses near their locations if necessary.