"Stay home": Freezing temps making Texas roads icy, dangerous

Residents in Texas are encouraged to stay home and off the roads as freezing temperatures are still making the roads very icy and dangerous. Tierra Neubaum explains.

AUSTIN, Texas - Drivetexas.org is a website where you can check road conditions in your area and this includes crashes and shut down roadways. Cameras caught cars spinning out of control on the frigid and frozen roadways Thursday in the Austin area.

First responders had their hands full assisting drivers caught up in wrecks due to the icy conditions.

Up north in Georgetown, a semi smashed into the center median on I-35. The area had multiple lanes in both directions shut down at one point during the day due to the amount of crashes.

With the threat of more ice on the roadways Friday, officials urge drivers to just stay home. "We’ve had significant stretches of road with ice on them, so it’s still pretty dangerous out there. I really just encourage folks to stay home unless it’s an emergency," said Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell.

Other tips for residents:

Avoid elevated roads, such as overpasses and bridges if possible.
Plan additional time for travel. Go slowly and carefully.
Avoid sudden braking or accelerating to maintain traction.
If traveling, pack emergency supplies in your vehicle such as blankets, jumper cables, emergency lights, and a cell phone charger in case of emergency.
Residents who need to report traffic light outages, road damage or any other weather-related concerns, may do so by contacting Austin 3-1-1 via phone (dial 3-1-1 or 512-974-2000) or the Austin 311 mobile app.

Numerous car accidents in the Austin area due to icy roads

Although precipitation is fading, freezing temperatures are not, making it still dangerous to drive.

In Williamson County, the judge said they’ve taken measures before the storm to make sure they’re able to help any drivers who don’t heed the warning and attempt to brave the ice.

"We’ve been managing incoming calls very well we have staff staying at this facility our sheriff's department is staffed up responding to calls are EMS is staffed up responding to calls as well."

Williamson County, TxDOT, and the City of Austin said the game plan heading into Friday will be to continue to treat the roads. "Listen, I love my fellow Texans and will take a Texan to battle with me but there’s nothing more freight full to me than a Texan driving on ice so we’re just not made to do that," said Gravell.