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11 Ways We're Turning The Nasty Ice Storm Into A Whimsical Winter Wonderland

Lacey Dowden

It’s Day Four of Ice Storm 2013, the massive blast of Old Man Winter that has shut down North Texas schools (yet again?!), covered highways with thick ice, snarled traffic for miles, delayed hundreds of flights and canceled myriad events, including the annual Children’s Medical Center holiday parade and the MetroPCS Dallas Marathon. (Stay up to speed on the storm on KERA’s live weather blog.)

But when life gives you snow, make snow cones, Carleen Michener of Denton told KERA.

Here’s a look at 11 of the more whimsical moments of Icepocalypse 2013.

1. Someone in Dallas decided to hook up a camera to a drone and capture the winter wonderland from above. Here's a YouTube video of an icy Dallas fromPayne Wingate, a local photographer.

2. Kids weren't going to stay inside for long. They ventured to Flagpole Hill in Dallas and made makeshift sleds and screamed down the hills:

3.  Wingate sent his drone up again – here's a video looking down at Flagpole Hill in Dallas.

4. This North Texan, whose power had been out, escaped to a hotel in Plano and decided to go ice skating in an iced-over parking lot. “The hotel didn't have this listed on their amenities!”

5. It’s hard to make snowmen in North Texas, so one girl got creative.

6. The winter storm, dubbed Cleon by The Weather Channel, even has its own Twitter account. Cleon has been tormenting North Texans for 96 hours, both on the ground and online …

7. The storm canceled the MetroPCS Dallas Marathon for the first time ever. But inches of thick sleet and ice weren't going to stop some runners. No way. They ran their own marathon on ice and sleet and through the bitter cold. They called it the 2013 Icepocalypse Marathon.

Credit 2013 Icepocalypse Marathon/Facebook

8. One man suddenly needed a kayak fix, so he took his kayak into his Carrollton backyard for an icy adventure.

9. Whether it's lemons or snow, Carleen Michener of Denton had the right attitude. She told KERA: "When life gives you snow, make snow cones!"

Credit Carleen Michener

10. This man decided to strut his stuff in his icy backyard, modeling the "Texas ICEpocalypse" and showing off groovy dance moves on the ice.

11. While many stayed inside, the storm didn’t stop Kanye West from performing at American Airlines Center. He and his fiancée, Kim Kardashian, ventured into the cold and dined at Mi Cocina in Highland Park Village over the weekend. Freezing temperatures didn't keep Kardashian from taking pictures with fans.

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.