Here's what to expect from this weekend's potentially hazardous winter weather in North Texas

KERA | By Megan Cardona

Published January 12, 2024 at 10:16 AM CST

Icicles form on a car during the winter storm Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, in Fort Worth.

An arctic airmass bringing below-freezing temperatures is expected to reach the Dallas-Fort Worth area Sunday afternoon.

The National Weather Service forecasts the chance for some winter precipitation — which could mean snow or ice — backing into the area Sunday night and lasting until at least Monday morning.

“Any sort of precept that falls when the temperatures are that cold is going to be of the wintry variety,” meteorologist Monique Sellers said. “As far as what form it's going to take, that’s where we're a little uncertain still.”

Temperatures are expected to drop into the teens Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service. Many areas in North and Central Texas could drop below 10 degrees Monday night into Tuesday morning.

“This is certainly not the last one,” Sellers said regarding winter weather this year. “We're about midway through our winter months now, we haven't really had a big cold air outbreak so far this season, so this will definitely be the colder temperatures that we've seen this season.”

Hazardous winter weather is nothing new to Texans who experienced the winter storms of the last three years. Most notable was the winter storm of February 2021 which left millions without electricity and an investigation into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

This is the third winter ERCOT’s Weatherization and Inspection Team has conducted weatherization inspections.

“This third winter features enhanced rule requirements for generation and transmission facilities, compared to the earlier seasons,” ERCOT said in a statement.

ERCOT issued a weather watch on Wednesday for Jan. 15-17.

Power grid conditions are expected to be normal during the watch, ERCOT said in a statement.

To prepare for this year’s winter weather, the national weather service issued a reminder to North Texans about the four P’s: People, pets, plants, and pipes.

“When we get the temperatures this low, and particularly wind chills that are getting close to almost zero degrees at this point, that's when any prolonged exposure can start to cause issues, particularly with those four P’s,” Sellers said.

The National Weather Service recommends checking on family and neighbors, bringing pets indoors, covering or bringing sensitive plants inside, and covering outdoor pipes. Letting inside faucets drip can also prevent cracked pipes.

Got a tip? Email Megan Cardona at mcardona@kera.org.

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