Texas prepares for arctic front with bone-chilling temperatures and chance of snow
An arctic front packing bone-chilling temperatures and a chance of snow is headed to North Texas, prompting a weather watch from the state’s electric grid operator and opening of emergency shelters.
On Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott and other state officials warned of a prolonged freeze that could last up to 90 hours in parts of Texas. But Abbott stressed the state’s power grid is expected to hold up and that any power outages will likely be the result of high winds or icy power lines.
“This will be one of the coldest episodes that we have lived through in the state of Texas, but it won’t be anything close to what we experienced during Winter Storm Uri,” Abbott said, referring to the February 2021 winter storm that crippled the state’s power grid and killed more than 200 people.
This weekend’s forecast continues to shift, as meteorologists try to pinpoint both when the front will arrive and how severe it will be. As of Friday afternoon, the front is expected to hit North Texas late Saturday afternoon, with the forecast calling for a low of about 17 degrees Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. Sunday will remain below-freezing, with a high of around 28.
Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Tuesday will hover in the mid 20s before falling to the teens in the evening. The region should climb above freezing Wednesday, when the temperature is expected to hit the mid 40s.
The weather service predicts a 30% chance of snow overnight Sunday and early Monday, with an accumulation of a half-inch or less, weather service meteorologist Steve Fano said.
“With temperatures well below freezing, any precipitation we get could cause icy spots on roads,” Fano said. “The Monday morning commute could get a little dicey.”
If it does snow, that would mirror recent weather trends in North Texas. In four of the past five years, the first snow of the season fell in January, according to weather service data. Abbott urged people to stay home if road conditions deteriorate. “I cannot over-emphasize that if you do not need to be driving, don’t do so,” he said.
In preparation for the front, the city of Dallas will open a temporary inclement weather shelter Friday at Fair Park for unhoused people. The shelter will remain open daily until the inclement weather comes to an end.
Daniel Roby, CEO of Austin Street Center, which partners with the city to open shelters, said extended exposure to cold temperatures and freezing precipitation can be fatal to unhoused residents, especially for vulnerable populations who have other health issues.
“We’ve had folks that had to undergo a double amputation as a result of frostbite,” Roby said.
Texas Department of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said people should begin preparing for the frigid weather event as soon as possible. Kidd said people should avoid running a generator inside their homes, ventilate homes if using wood-burning appliances and do not leave their cars running in a closed garage.
The emergency management department has a map of warming centers on its website that will be updated as facilities are opened.
Meanwhile, high winds in North Texas and snow and ice in the Midwest were already snarling air travel at DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field, where roughly 3% of flights were canceled by mid-morning Friday.
“At this point, it looks like it’s going to obstruct travel,” said Tom Kines, senior meteorologist with Accuweather. “Whether there is enough to take down power lines and tree limbs, that’s unclear right now.”
Citing the extreme temperatures, high demand and potential for lower reserves, ERCOT, which operates the power grid for most of Texas, issued a weather watch from Monday to Wednesday.
Abbott said the grid’s tightest time will be Tuesday and Wednesday morning when power demand will reach daily peaks near record-breaking levels and wind relatively weak. A glut in renewable energy production will reduce the amount of reserves, creating a narrower margin between demand and available electricity.
ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said the power grid operator is closely monitoring the situation, coordinating with generators and has conducted 450 weatherization inspections at power plants this winter.
“We are prepared to deal with this event,” Vegas said.
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(Staff writer Leah Waters contributed to this report.)