North Texas will see a sunny but chilly day on Monday before an Arctic cold front arrives, bringing sub-freezing temperatures, the possibility of freezing rain and cold weather that will stick around for much of the week, forecasters say.
Dallas-Fort Worth will see high temperatures in the mid-50s on Monday, with lows expected to dip into the 40s overnight, according to the National Weather Service.
But the mercury is forecast to drop significantly Tuesday afternoon after the Arctic blast arrives, ushering in the “coldest air of the season,” the weather service said. High temperatures are forecast to be around 52 degrees during the day before plunging into the teens overnight.
The weather service issued an extreme cold watch for much of North Texas that is scheduled to go into effect Tuesday evening and last through Thursday morning.
After a briefing from state emergency response officials Monday morning, Gov. Greg Abbott said North Texas will face “what will likely be the coldest weather event of the year. And actually in some places in the state of Texas, it may be the coldest event ever marked in history in the state of the Texas.”
He said ERCOT’s power grid is up for the challenge, though. The agency, which acts as the electrical grid operator for most of Texas, issued a weather watch for Wednesday through Friday.
Local homeless shelters said their doors will be open to accept those looking to escape the winter weather.
Forecasters are predicting that Wednesday and Thursday will both have high temperatures only in the 20s and 30s with lows in the teens and single digits. Some parts of North Texas will experience wind chills as low as 10 below zero, federal forecasters said.
The weather service said there is a low chance for light freezing rain in the region late Tuesday afternoon and into the night. “Very light ice accumulations are possible,” causing travel impacts, especially on bridges and overpasses.
Cold weather experts warned Dallas-Fort Worth residents to take precautions over the next few days to protect people, pipes, pets and plants with the anticipated arrival of the much colder air.
The frigid conditions arriving in North Texas is part of a polar vortex event that is forecast to bring dangerously cold weather to a large swath of the U.S. with the northern Rockies and northern Plains first in line.
Weather forces in the Arctic are combining to push the chilly air that usually stays near the North Pole into the U.S. and Europe.
Over the weekend, at least nine people were killed, eight of them in Kentucky alone, after a winter storm swept through the region.
Dallas forecast via KXAS-TV (NBC5):
TUESDAY: Cloudy and turning much colder with a 70% chance of light rain. The rain could change to freezing rain by late afternoon (north and west) and by evening in DFW. Low: 45. High: 48, but afternoon temperatures will fall into the 30s. Wind: E 10-15 mph.
WEDNESDAY: Blustery and frigid with partial sunshine. Low: 17. High: 30. Wind: N 15-20 mph.
THURSDAY: Mixture of sunshine and clouds, bitter cold. Low: 15. High: 32. Wind: NE 5-10 mph.
FRIDAY: Partly sunny and chilly. Low: 21. High: 39. Wind: E 5-10 mph.
SATURDAY: Partly sunny and cool. Low: 29. High: 48. Wind: SE 5-10 mph.
Staff writer Lana Ferguson contributed to this report.
