As ice thaws, effects likely to linger

[TexasStooge]

Winter storm may leave potholes, higher heating bills in its wake

By DAVID FLICK / The Dallas Morning News

The season's first cold snap is expected to begin lifting Friday, but it will leave behind reminders that could jar area residents for weeks to come.

The jolt may be literal, when your car hits a pothole, or financial, when the heating bill arrives in the mail.

Natural gas use among Atmos Energy's 1.5 million customers jumped from 341 million cubic feet on Saturday, when the temperature reached a record high, to 1.8 billion cubic feet on Wednesday.

The bills should begin arriving on Dec. 20, just in time for Christmas, and they come at a time when natural gas prices are spiking because of cold-weather demand.

Home heating-gas prices directly reflect the price of natural gas. Atmos charges customers the wholesale price and doesn't make a profit on gas sales.

Atmos predicted earlier this year that household gas bills could be as much as 90 percent higher this year, but spokesman Ray Granado said Thursday that other factors may mitigate that figure.

He also noted that prices for December bills were set before the recent price spike and that higher heating demands from the quick cold snap could be balanced out by moderate weather in the coming weeks.

"Two days of colder-than-normal weather don't necessarily mean anything," he said.

The ice from Wednesday's winter storm largely disappeared from city streets by Thursday afternoon, but drivers will have occasion to remember it from time to time whenever they hit a pothole.

"When the moisture gets down in the cracks and freezes, it expands and breaks up the pavement," said Ron Schindoll, program manager for the city of Dallas' street services.

Mr. Schindoll said street-services workers could spend the next few weeks repairing damage caused by the ice and frigid temperatures. Residents may report potholes by calling 214-670-4491.

In any case, forecasters say the severe weather is over for a while.

Winds in high-pressure areas, like the arctic front that moved through this week, turn in a clockwise direction – pulling down cold air from the north as they arrive and bringing up moderate winds from the south as they depart, said Daniel Huckaby, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Fort Worth office.

Those southerly winds are expected to bring moderate temperatures this weekend, with highs in the 60s predicted for Monday. Another cold front is expected next week, but lows should be nothing like the ***** **perienced this week.

"It's a typical wintertime pattern. We get a cold front, and then things warm up and we get a cold front again," Mr. Huckaby said. "But a front like we got this week, you only get a couple of times a winter."

Some people were able to put this week's storm behind them more quickly than others.

People stuck at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Wednesday slept on cots provided by airlines. By Thursday morning, though, most were gone, and Terminal A largely returned to business as usual.

Most American Airlines flights Thursday were at least close to their on-time schedule.

After organizing a two-day conference that straddled Wednesday's storm, American Airlines executive assistant Katherine Freking spent most of Thursday morning outside a security checkpoint. There she waited hours for the arrival of folks delayed by the weather.

"It's pretty boring," she said.

Staff writers Elizabeth Souder and Brandon Formby contributed to this report