Updated at 7:30 a.m. Saturday: Revised to include the chance for slick roads Saturday.
North Texans on Friday prepared for what could be the region’s largest snowstorm in years.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for all of North Texas from late Saturday through Monday. The warning — which includes Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties — cautioned that North Texas could get 3 to 6 inches of snow Sunday night into Monday morning, with some light ice mixed in.
“Travel will be dangerous,” the weather service said in a prepared statement. “The heavy snow and forecast long duration of extremely cold temperatures will likely lead to major stress on the region’s infrastructure as well as crippling travel for several days.”
Things can (and will) change. But this is an early look at the snowfall potential for late Sunday into Monday. So yes, with subsequent model runs, this map may be "tweaked after tweeted" 😆 Looks like it's going to be a significant snow for NTX. #NBCDFWWeather pic.twitter.com/whk5VPQS74
— Grant Johnston (@GrantJNBC5) February 12, 2021
North Texas could see a brief round of a wintry mix Saturday morning. While significant accumulations are not expected, there could be icy or slick roads in some areas, the Weather Service cautioned.
By 7 a.m. Saturday, about 0.04 inches of ice had been recorded at Love Field Airport and 0.03 inches of ice were recorded at DFW International Airport, according to Weather Service meteorologist David Bonnette.
The main event is expected late Sunday, when heavy, blowing snow could make driving dangerous and wind chills could drop as low as 15 degrees below zero, according to KXAS-TV (NBC5) meteorologist Grant Johnston said.
“You need to prepare for a major winter storm, the way it’s looking,” Johnston said. “We could be talking near blizzard conditions with strong winds, dangerous cold air, and accumulation is likely. … This is looking like it’s going to be a major winter wallop.”
Early next week, lows are expected to dip into the single digits before another chance of snow arrives Wednesday, Johnston said.
Ahead of the storm, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for all Texas counties. The Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Military Department and other agencies have been deployed to help with the storm response.
“Texas should heed the guidance of their local leaders and stay alert to changing weather conditions in their area,” Abbott said in a prepared statement. “These resources will help us respond to this severe winter weather and keep our communities safe.”
With temperatures not expected to get above freezing until late next week, and possibly more snow coming Wednesday, it could take some time for any accumulation to melt.
The weather service cautioned that travel could be difficult into mid- to late next week.
As of noon Friday, Dallas-Fort Worth had been below freezing for 64 hours straight. The record for consecutive hours below freezing in North Texas was set Dec. 18-30, 1983, when the area spent 295 hours below 32 degrees, the weather service said.
The 1983 record should remain intact, but by next week, North Texas may have been below freezing for more than 200 hours.
‘Preparing a bit more’
Across the area, some North Texans spent part of Friday preparing for the frigid weekend.
Although she didn’t consider herself a panic buyer, Edith Huerta picked up some essentials Friday morning at El Rancho supermarket in Old East Dallas.
It’s been nearly six years since North Texas has seen significant snowfall. Dallas-Fort Worth recorded 3.5 inches March 4-5, 2015, the weather service said.
Danielle Chiveya said she remembers that last snowstorm well — she had to move during it.
The move was supposed to be only a 20-minute drive across Dallas, but it ended up taking about 14 hours, finally wrapping up about 2 a.m. on March 5.
“It took me all day to drive,” Chiveya said.
While shopping for groceries Friday morning, Chiveya said she feels ready for the snowstorm this time — she has to be. She is a nurse and is scheduled to work Monday morning, and she plans to be there even if it means leaving home two hours early for a drive that normally takes 10 minutes.
“I’ll make sure,” Chiveya said. “If I don’t get there, my patients don’t get their injections.”
Chef James Rowland, owner of Carver Park in northeast Dallas, was also more concerned with work than the snow.
With the bulk of the snow expected to fall on Sunday, Valentine’s Day, Rowland was expecting his business on what is typically one of the busiest days of the year for restaurants to take a hit. Rowland said he was also concerned about being able to drive to work after the snowfall.
“Monday is gonna be a big day,” he said.
Rowland, who was picking up eggs and pasta Friday morning for his restaurant, said he had noticed that some North Texans were already preparing for bad weather.
Almost every day of the week, he said, he picks up something from the Tom Thumb off of U.S. Highway 75 at Meadow Road. Though there wasn’t a mad rush of panicked shoppers at the store Friday, Rowland noticed that some shelves were a little emptier than usual.
“In a sense, yes, you are preparing a bit more,” he said.
Shelby Mower, 22, took her two dogs out to the Meadows Foundation dog park in the afternoon to tire them out before the night. Mower, who moved to Dallas from Utah a few months ago, said she hadn’t expected such a sharp drop in temperatures.
”I’m used to the cold weather, but I was not prepared for this at all, and so I left all my coats in Utah,” she said.
Taylor Luis, 26, walked out of a Target off Haskell Avenue with her fiancé Friday afternoon. They had stocked up on groceries and “a lot” of Valentine’s Day chocolate to stay tucked in through the weekend.
Originally from Michigan, Luis said that she was used to the cold but still had to bring her heavy coats out of storage to be “ready to go for the cold.”
To keep safe from the coronavirus and stay warm, the couple planned to stay in on Valentine’s Day and enjoy a home-cooked steak.
COVID-19 vaccine hub operations
Dallas County: The county’s Fair Park vaccination site will be closed all weekend and Monday, and could be closed longer, officials said. Officials said that the site would reopen as soon as it was safe to do so and that people due for their second doses would be prioritized.
Parkland Health & Hospital System’s vaccination sites at Ellis Davis Field House and Dallas College’s Eastfield Campus in Mesquite are to be closed through Monday, the hospital said. People with appointments for those locations were to go to Parkland Memorial Hospital at their scheduled time, and anyone who couldn’t make it was to be contacted by Parkland.
Testing sites at Sam Tasby Middle School in Dallas, Irving Health Center and the West Dallas Multipurpose Center were staying closed through Monday, Parkland said.
We were able to open early today due to unexpectedly better weather. Things are running smoothly @fairpark . We are vaccinating indoors today second shots only for those whose second shot were due Monday-Thursday. We have heated buses to take you to the building from your car. 🇺🇸
— Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) February 12, 2021
Tarrant County: Tarrant County Public Health said in a tweet Wednesday night that its COVID-19 testing sites would be closed through Monday.
Collin County: Vaccine appointments originally scheduled for Friday at Plano’s John Clark Stadium were being rescheduled, the county said. Affected patients will be contacted by Curative Medical Associates.
Staff writer Valeria Olivares contributed to this report.
