By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 8:55 AM on 6th February 2011
Last updated at 8:55 AM on 6th February 2011
Freezing fog, snow and rain have been forecast for North Texas just as the biggest sporting event in the American calendar kicks off there.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather warning ahead of today's Super Bowl, which has already been hit by disaster after falling snow from the stadium roof injured seven people.
Yesterday's brief rise in temperatures also brought its own problems - with melting snow flooding the hotel that was hosting the main media centre.
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Construction workers and firefighters clear every last piece of remaining snow off the roof of the Cowboys stadium in Arlington ahead of the Super Bowl. But more snow, freezing fog and rain have been forecast
Last night the NWS forecast that freezing fog would descend overnight where snow remains.
A spokesman added: 'Patchy freezing fog will linger Sunday morning until a cold front arrives, bringing a chance of rain and snow for the remainder of the day.'
The game is set to take place at the high-tech, $1.2billion Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, where workers and the fire service were attempting to remove every last piece of snow from the domed roof yesterday.
Organisers are taking no chances after sheet ice fell from the stadium's 91-metre high roof on Friday, hospitalising seven people.
Photographer Win McNamee's shoulder was broken in four places by the falling ice. He told the Dallas Morning News: 'Honestly, while it was hitting me, I was thinking I'm going to die here. It was pretty frightening.
'I covered a war, I covered the stuff in Haiti last year. You always figure if something is going to happen it would be in one of those places - not at a football game.'
Dangerous: Seven people were injured after sheets of ice and snow slid off the stadium roof
Cold: Snow falls around a road sign in Fort Worth ahead of today's game. The Dallas-Fort Worth area has been hammered with back-to-back storms and more than six inches of snow
Several marquees and temporary structures were also badly damaged.
The Dallas-Fort Worth area was hammered with back-to-back winter storms in less than three days which initially brought ice and bone-chilling winds then dumped six inches (15 centimetres) of snow early Friday morning.
More than 1,000 flights into the area were cancelled in snow storms within the last seven days.
Those lucky fans who have managed to get to into Arlington could well be in for travel chaos as they attempt to leave, with more freezing rain, sleet and snow forecast for the beginning of next week.
An NWS spokesman added: 'Significant and widespread travel impacts will be possible across all of North Texas by Wednesday morning.'
Yesterday the Sheraton Hotel had to close its underground parking garage when melting snow flooded the first floor of the car park.
The Sheraton is the main media centre for the 5,000 accredited reporters for today's game.
Shock weather: Stunned fans record the unseasonally snowy scene in Dallas ahead of the NFL Super Bowl
Dangerous: Ice falling from the Dallas Cowboys stadium roof injured members of the public below
Ice: One of the the people injured by falling ice is loaded into a waiting ambulance
The stadium accidents caused by the icy conditions have not done any favours for ambitious Cowboys owner Jerry Jones who wants to host more Super Bowls. He optimistically suggested today's game would be played in temperatures in their mid-50s.
Although there were clear skies yesterday, Texas residents awoke to temperatures of 31f and airlines were struggling to cope with the backlog after being hit with freezing weather all week.
The North Texas Super Bowl Organising Committee has insisted that contingency plans for snow were in place and that the game would run smoothly.
'Certainly, we've had a winter to remember; somebody said a winter to forget,' NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. 'It hasn't dampened the enthusiasm for the NFL and the people in this community.'
Covered: The Dallas Cowboys stadium covered in snow and ice after this weeks freak weather
Winter storms: A near-record 20 inches of snow fell in Chicago
Nearly half the U.S. has been hit by snow this week, with some parts of the Midwest seeing falls of 2ft. At least 12 people have died and tens of millions were forced to stay at home.
National Weather Service meteorologist Thomas Spriggs said: 'A storm that produces a swath of 20in snow is really something we'd see once every 50 years - maybe.'
Chicago saw 20in of snow - making it the third-largest winter storm in the city's history. Hundreds of drivers were stranded in the city for 12 hours because of the blizzards.
Cars had to be abandoned on the iconic Lake Shore Drive along Lake Michigan. There was chaos as the drivers then struggled to find their cars after they were towed away.
Temperatures across parts of the Midwest fell as low as -30c with wind chills dropping to -35c.
The 12 deaths included a homeless man who burned to death on Long Island as he tried to light cans of cooking fuel, and a woman in Oklahoma City who was killed while being pulled behind a truck on a sledge that hit a railing.
In southeastern Michigan, three people in two pickup trucks were killed when one driver lost control on an icy highway and collided head-on with the other vehicle.
And three mushroom farm workers died when their SUV careered off a snowy highway bridge, ploughed through a snowdrift and over a guardrail before plummeting into a shallow icy river.
Long wait: Pittsburgh Steelers fans bide their time after their flights were delayed
At O'Hare, a huge international hub, most airlines stopped flying Tuesday night, with no flights on Wednesday and more than 1,000 flights cancelled on Thursday
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1354005/Snow-chaos-Dallas-threatens-ruin-Super-Bowl-thousands-hundreds-flights-cancelled.html#ixzz1DAlyoPkF
