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Snow, cold make Dallas feel more like Green Bay

Football fans whose flights had been canceled struggled Saturday to get to Dallas for Sunday's big game, while those already in town for the Super Bowl were contending with temperatures and snow typical of Pittsburgh and Green Bay but unusual in Texas.
Fans near the NFL Super Bowl Experience during a winter storm on Friday in Dallas.
Fans near the NFL Super Bowl Experience during a winter storm on Friday in Dallas. Matt Slocum / AP
/ Source: NBC News and news services

Football fans whose flights had been canceled struggled Saturday to get to Dallas for Sunday's big game, while those already in town for the Super Bowl were contending with temperatures and snow typical of Pittsburgh and Green Bay but unusual in Texas.

A fresh blast of snow and ice canceled hundreds of flights Friday, transformed highways into ribbons of white and caused dangerous sheets of ice to fall from Cowboys Stadium, sending at least six people to the hospital. It was enough to turn the biggest week in American sports into a Super Mess.

The NFL said those hurt by the falling ice included private contractors it hired to prepare the stadium for the game. One man was hit in the head, another in the shoulder. None of the injuries was considered life-threatening.

Most stadium entrances were closed as a precaution. Officials raised the temperature inside the arena in an attempt to melt remaining ice.

'I'm back in Canada'
The Dallas-Fort Worth area received as much as 5 inches of snow overnight — nearly twice its annual average — and downtown Dallas hotels were selling ski hats and scarves alongside cowboy hats. A winter storm warning was issued for suburban Arlington, home of the $1.3 billion stadium where the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers are to play Sunday.

"It looks like, 'Oh, no, I'm back in Canada,'" said Sammy Sandu, a 32-year-old property developer from Kelowna, British Columbia. "It's just pouring down snow. Are we still at home, or have we left? We didn't drink that much last night, did we?"

Forecasters expected game day to be mostly sunny, with highs in the 40s, which would probably not be warm enough to melt all the snow and ice.

Asked if the weather could affect future Super Bowl bids, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the conditions this year have been exceptional.

"We've had a winter to remember. Some would say to forget," Goodell said. "It's going to be a great weekend for us, and the weather's getting better."

East Coast

William "Billy" King had Billy gotten out of the garbage truck he was driving to help shovel snow around the carts so the garbage could be collected when he suffered the attack, officials said.

Billy was 60 years old and had worked for the City of Chicago for more than 10 years. Those who knew Billy said he was a conscientious worker, helpful to his fellow employees, always willing to help a friend, and a caring brother.

Other Northeastern cities, too, have been hammered by this season's snowfall, with Hartford recording more than 80 inches of snow and New York City almost 58 inches, according to Weather Channel tallies. Boston received 71 inches.

Public officials are increasingly concerned about a rash of roof collapses in the region as flat roofs are crippled under the weight of snow and ice.

Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reports more than 92 roof collapses, with the majority occurring in the last few days primarily in eastern and southeastern parts of the state.

No serious injuries have been reported, but local media in New England report barn collapses injuring or killing animals.