HOUSTON — We all know how bad Houston traffic can be, but mix in unfamiliar weather conditions and things can get extremely dicey.
Ariel M.'s commute on Monday was excessive, to say the least: What's usually a 35-minute commute for him to get from work to home turned into a 6.5-hour affair.
He was just trying to get from his office in The Woodlands to his house in Kingwood -- about a 22-mile trip. Ariel said he left work around 10 a.m.
When he caught up to the brake lights on the Hardy Toll Road, he knew something was wrong. He said he's never been stuck in anything like it -- even seeing some drivers slipping and sliding on the ice.
"I saw cars spinning this way, spinning that way. They were literally out of control," he said.
Icy conditions brought the Hardy Toll Road to a standstill and all Ariel could do was watch the chaos unfold.
It was an accident that caused a massive delay and trapped Ariel on the frozen toll road.
"People behind me were getting impatient ... They were honking their horns," he said. "Four hours sitting in one spot not moving was scary for me."
He said several people ran out of gas and were forced to shut off their cars to conserve. He said he was hungry and didn't have any food.
"The bathroom was the hard part," he said.
Ariel finally got home around 4:30 p.m.
The six hours he sat in traffic is as long as it takes to fly to New York and back.
Ariel said he's not sure that local leaders did enough to make sure the roads were treated before the winter blast hit Houston.
"Being aware of it and prepared for it are two different things," he said. "It's probably going to be worse tomorrow (Tuesday)."
City and county officials said they will continue to monitor road conditions and respond to ice reports overnight.
City of Houston officials said they're going to put together a report when the weather event is over to evaluate how they responded.
The arctic cold forced several school districts around the Houston area to preemptively close on Tuesday. See the list of districts here.