From the National Weather Service: A winter weather event will bring potentially significant travel and infrastructure impacts as well as bitterly cold temperatures to all of North and Central Texas beginning Friday and continuing through the weekend.
Overview
- An Arctic cold front will send very cold air into the region on Friday.
- While the day will begin with a widespread cold rain, temperatures will gradually fall below freezing and allow for rain to transition to freezing rain and sleet later in the day. The current forecast timing for this north-to-south transition is Friday evening for the I-20 corridor and immediate DFW Metroplex.
- Travel impacts will begin shortly after the onset of wintry precipitation due to accumulating sleet, as well as a glaze of ice from freezing rain. Travel impacts will continue for most of the weekend as mixed wintry precipitation persists into Sunday.
- A partial transition to snow will occur in portions of North Texas heading into Saturday, while widespread sleet and freezing rain continue elsewhere through most of the daytime. Precipitation should finally come to an end on Sunday morning.
- In addition to travel impacts, ice accumulation on trees and power lines due to freezing rain may begin to cause power outages, and this will be most likely south of I-20 where freezing rain is expected to be the predominant weather type.
- Very cold temperatures and wind chills are forecast all weekend, with Saturday night being the coldest time period. There is a greater than 50% chance for single-digit low temperatures in parts of North Texas, which will put pipes and other infrastructure at an increased risk for damage.
- Much of the area is likely to stay below freezing from Friday night until Monday afternoon, with very slow improvement to travel conditions.
Winter Weather Preparations
As we prepare for the winter weather, here are some freezing temp reminders!
- Open cabinet doors under sinks to expose pipes to heat within the house
- Slow drip your faucets for any location that is served by exposed pipes or those in exterior walls
- Turn off your yard sprinkler systems
Remember the four P's: People, Pets, Plants & Pipes will be at risk.
- Check on your neighbors & family
- Bring your pets indoors
- Cover or bring sensitive plants indoors
- Protect outdoor pipes and let indoor faucets drip
In an emergency due to broken or frozen pipes, it is important to know the location of your home's water shut-off valve. Please reference the City's tutorial videos below with step-by-step instructions on how to turn off your household water.
Oncor Updates
Oncor has already completed annual winter preparations. For more information on these preparations, visit the Oncor website.
- Customers are encouraged to stay weather aware and take steps over the weekend to protect ‘The Four P’s’ – people, pets, pipes and plants.
- Oncor’s seasonal preparedness planning occurs year-round and annual winter preparations have been completed.
- Our teams will be ready to respond should any outage impacts occur.
Customers can connect with Oncor and receive updates through our various communication platforms, including:
- The MyOncor App (Available in the App Store and Google Play)
- My Oncor Alerts (To register, text REG to 66267)
- Storm Center Outage Map
- Social Media Channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
- Calling 888.313.4747