The Coldest Week For North Texas In 22 Years
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - It's been 15 years since air this cold has impacted North Texans and the coldest week in 22 years.
Although the heavy snow and sleet have pushed well away from North Texas, the strong blast of arctic air continues to build clouds and flurries that will linger into the evening hours. Blustery conditions continue across all of North Texas with northwest winds gusting 25-35 mph
As skies clear temperatures will drop into the single digits and low teens. The low Tuesday night at DFW will likely be nine degrees. The last time it was that cold was on February 4, 1996, when there was a low temperature of eight degrees.
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And there are other records being broken. Tuesday night will also end the longest stretch on record of not seeing single digits. It has been 15 years since there have been single digits at DFW Airport. The previous longest stretch was eight years in a row. This stretch of cold weather will also be the most severe cold since we have seen since 1989. That is the last time there were two consecutive nights with temperatures in the single digits.
Roads will still be slick and ice-covered as temperatures get even colder. TxDOT officials tell CBS 11 if the surface temperature falls below 15 degrees the magnesium chloride they have treated the roads with will not work. They will then use sand and salt.
With a cold blast that comes around every decade or so, it's no surprise several types of warnings and advisories are in effect. A Wind Advisory continues until 6 PM while a Wind Chill Advisory extends through 6 AM Wednesday.
Wednesday will be partly to mostly cloudy with temperatures struggling to make it to 20 degrees. It will still be wind, just not as windy as Tuesday. Wind chills will drop below zero for more than 12 hours into Wednesday morning, and wind chills will once again be in the single digits throughout the day.
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With the bitter arctic air in place, a Hard Freeze Warning is in effect. This National Weather Service product or bulletin is new this season. The Hard Freeze Warning is issued when the air temperature dips to 10 degrees or colder and is used primarily to alert North Texans to the potential for freezing pipes and consequent property damage.
On Thursday expect another bitterly cold morning with temperatures around 10 degrees. Highs on Thursday will be in the low 20s and winds won't be as strong.
On Friday another powerful upper level system will be pass into South Texas. Most of the models keep this south of the metroplex, but will bring snow from San Antonio to College Station. However, some other reliable models, like the RPM and the NAM, are trending farther north with the system. This would put snow in our local southeastern counties and possibly into the metroplex. If this were the case 1" to 2" of snow would be possible on Friday.
Temperatures on Friday will start in the teens and warm into the low 30s.
