Bottom Line
Arctic air is still slated to arrive Wednesday along with a chance for winter precipitation Wednesday night through Thursday. The biggest change to the forecast is that precipitation will likely continue for much of Thursday instead of ending early in the day. The cold air will last a few days with temperatures expected to warm above freezing by Friday or Saturday. Rainfall before the arctic air arrives may make pre-treating roads challenging.
Overview
- The entire forecast area is now under a Winter Storm Watch that begins Wednesday evening and continues through Thursday afternoon.
- The cold front will arrive Wednesday with temperatures falling into the teens and 20s overnight.
- Widespread rain is expected Wednesday that may be moderate to heavy at times. A few isolated storms are possible east of I-35.
- Rain is expected to transition to winter precipitation from northwest to southeast Wednesday evening and night. An initial transition to freezing rain and sleet is most likely.
- The potential for significant icing appears most likely across eastern North Texas Wednesday night with impacts that may include:
-
- Dangerous travel, tree breakage, and power outages.
- Travel impacts would likely extend into Saturday in this region.
- Medium icing-related impacts are expected elsewhere that include the potential for:
-
- Ice/sleet covered bridges/overpasses and slick surface roads, icing on trees and powerlines that cause sporadic power outages.
- Travel impacts would likely extend into Friday or Saturday in this region.
- Snow is then possible Wednesday night over Western North Texas with snow possible across all of North Texas Thursday. This will likely fall and accumulate on a layer of ice.
- Precipitation is forecast to end late Thursday, but any ice, sleet, and snow would remain on the ground until Friday or Saturday when temperatures warm comfortably above freezing.
- Dangerously cold wind chills are expected Thursday and Friday with below zero wind chill values possible.
- Morning lows in the single digits and teens are likely Friday and Saturday morning. Daytime highs should warm above freezing by Friday or Saturday.
Areas of Concern & General Timing
