Hundreds of flights have been cancelled in Texas, where frigid temperatures have left runways and roads dangerously icy.

The US National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for the Houston area and is warning mariners of gale-force winds along the Texas coast. Sleet and freezing rain are forecast for parts of the state.

Flights into Houston, San Antonio and elsewhere have been cancelled. Houston is enduring minus 6C, while San Antonio stands at minus 1C.

Mike Falsetto cleans the ice from his windshield in South Bend, Indiana (AP)
Mike Falsetto cleans the ice from his windshield in South Bend, Indiana (AP)

Police in Austin said highways in the state capital are iced over and several counties opened emergency operation centres to co-ordinate emergency response.

The cold front also brought snow to parts of North Texas, where the wind chill pushed temperatures lower still.

In Mississippi, ice coated roads and bridges in 36 of the state’s 82 counties, the Mississippi Department of Transport said.

Road crews were working to put salt and other materials on roadways, mainly in the northern and central parts of the state.

Mississippi authorities advised people to limit travel only to emergencies.

Some of the heaviest snow in Mississippi was expected in the state’s Delta region, where up to 3in is possible.

Traffic travels eastbound on Interstate 24 near Paducah, Kentucky (AP)
Traffic travels eastbound on Interstate 24 near Paducah, Kentucky (AP)

Meanwhile, snow fell across much of Kentucky and Tennessee, leading to multiple school closures and multiple road crashes.

The Kentucky Transportation Department said several accidents closed a 10-mile section of the Interestate 24 road in western Kentucky and blocked southbound lanes of Interestate 65 in the south-central part of the state.

The forecast in Kentucky predicted up to 3in of snow for sections of central and eastern Kentucky.

In Tennessee, forecasters have warned there could be up to 6in of snow in the central part of the state and 1-3in and 1in in the western and eastern regions.

Overnight, temperatures are expected to turn bitterly cold, with sub-zero wind chills.