LUBBOCK, Texas -- A snowstorm slammed into the Texas Panhandle early Thursday, leaving at least three people dead and causing a 40-vehicle pileup that shut down Interstate 40 for several hours, officials said.

One person was killed and at least two were injured in the interstate pileup caused by blowing snow that limited visibility and slick, icy spots made the roadway treacherous, Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Wayne Beighle said.

A fire truck also rolled over while approaching the accident scene, causing minor injuries to one firefighter. I-40 was shut down eastbound after the accident that occurred before dawn, but it reopened later Thursday morning.

North of Amarillo, a pedestrian was killed where U.S. 287 intersects with Loop 335, Beighle said. There were no immediate details of that accident, or another in which a person died in Castro County southeast of Amarillo.

Authorities did not release the names of those killed.

“It has taken a heavy toll up here,” Beighle said. “We’re still telling people to be real careful.”

Amarillo received 2.6 inches of snow and Silverton in Briscoe County got 2 inches. Lubbock recorded a trace at the airport, but some places got as much as an inch.

Other areas of Texas also were hit by severe weather, though of a different variety.

A cold front moving across the state prompted tornado watches in the Houston area.

And wildfire danger was extreme in the Hill Country and south central Texas near San Antonio as the humidity dropped to single digits and wind gusts were forecast to be up to 45 mph.