Texas Winter 2013-2014

[Texas Snowman]

With an inch of sleet, give or take, Denison ISD is out of school for the SEVENTH day this winter. That's got to be close to a record!

[ronyan]

Light freezing drizzle has started in NW Harris County on elevated metal surfaces. My grill and patio furniture has a thin coating of ice forming. That makes 7 Winter Weather events for SE Texas this winter.

That's impressive. Lets go for another one on Tuesday!

Bush (IAH) is forecasted by the NWS of 33. Will it be another close but no cigar for TeamPlayersBlue? NAM MOS is upper 20s.

Not sure what they are going by with the forecast of 33 for IAH. 18z GFS has 28, MOS 32, NAM 25. Doesn't appear to be much model support for that 33, maybe wxman has co-opted the NWS office with that forecast.

[gboudx]

Shocking, Rockwall ISD cancelled classes tomorrow.

that is shocking, dont think they got anymore than here... roads are gonna be dry by the morning.
garland wont cancel for sure....

We had about 3 good sleet showers that put a nice layer of ice on the roads. Street in front of my house is a sheet of ice. Plus RISD must factor in the 66 bridge to Rowlett.

[Wntrwthrguy]

Just went outside and the grass is frozen and saw a few snowflakes on the trash cans. I feel like this is the coldest we have been all winter but that's probably just because it's been so warm lately.

[katheria]

Shocking, Rockwall ISD cancelled classes tomorrow.

that is shocking, dont think they got anymore than here... roads are gonna be dry by the morning.
garland wont cancel for sure....

We had about 3 good sleet showers that put a nice layer of ice on the roads. Street in front of my house is a sheet of ice. Plus RISD must factor in the 66 bridge to Rowlett.

guess u guys got more than we did here by firewheel...garland never seems to cancel unless Dallas isd does for some reason.

[Ntxw]

After going through all the guidance I've come to a conclusion. A few days ago Gpsnowman asked what his camping trip could be like this coming weekend. Well at the time I jokingly spit out the fact the ECMWF had 2 inches of snow. Well I'm not saying it's going to snow, but it appears all of the major guidance and ensembles seemingly have this storm/feature coming down this weekend with cold air. The MJO is swinging back into phase 8, certainly supports a system still. Still to early to invest in it yet, but know it's there is a consensus.

[Texas Snowman]

Snowing lightly again in Denison. Amazing 24-hour turnaround up here.

Spring to dead of winter. This storm and cold would do January proud.

[Ralph's Weather]

Many schools closed or delayed in East Texas. I know I won't be going anywhere in the morning.

[TheProfessor]

NorthWest isd just canceled all classes tomorrow.

Edit: it is due to extreme temperatures and icy bridges.

[SouthernMet]

sref shifts north again, putting the bullseye of the freezing rain around Hillsboro-Waco line.

[ravyrn]

I know where wxman57 has been. He has been hard at work preparing his "I Love Winter" speech. IAH has a chance for sub-freezing temps tonight, I believe.

Bush (IAH) is forecasted by the NWS of 33. Will it be another close but no cigar for TeamPlayersBlue? NAM MOS is upper 20s.

It is currently 36 @ IAH. I think the odds are in favor of him making the speech.

[ravyrn]

Well, here's a quick rundown of conditions in my area. US69 has an overpass over some train tracks here in Jacksonville. The bridge has some ice on it, though it is passable at the moment as there is no ice in each lane where the tires of the vehicles contact the concrete. This may change as we get colder tonight, however I did see some TXDOT vehicles on it as I left the store. I guess they were putting some salt or sand on the bridge. I was coming back from my mom's tonight from Maydelle. When I left her house around 8pm there was a bit of sleet on her deck. Maybe .25" and a light glaze of ice with some sleet on top on all the patio furniture. It wasn't freezing when I arrived at her house at 5:30pm but it had dropped down to 30F by the time I left. I noticed quite a few limbs and branches down but I'm not sure if that was related to freezing rain, wind, or a combination of the two. I had to stop twice to clear the road and actually had to use my chainsaw on one occasion. I also was very surprised to see a decent snow flurry on my way home. I stopped and tried to take a video but my headlights weren't sufficient lighting to record the snow as it was very small (though it was a fairly decent flurry). It may have been enough to consider it light snow.

I noticed a fair amount of snow on two cars, both heading out to my mom's and then coming back. It may have been sitting on top of some sleet, but it was certainly snow. As you can tell the difference between freezing rain, sleet, and snow on a vehicle. I am wondering if somewhere near me got .5" to 1" of snow? Both vehicles I suspect came into town on US69 South so possibly from the Tyler or Bullard area?

Also, we have had a lack of pictures of this event. Did anyone take pictures or video? I have a couple of the little bit we received here in Jacksonville. However, the event did not begin until after the sunset so their quality isn't all that great. I'd love to see some photos of the I-20 corridor in ETX.

[Lagreeneyes03]

Shocking, Rockwall ISD cancelled classes tomorrow.

that is shocking, dont think they got anymore than here... roads are gonna be dry by the morning.
garland wont cancel for sure....

Grand Prairie ISD says there will be no decision on a possible weather-related closing until Monday morning at 4:30. "At this time, plan on a regular school day," the district tweeted. - WFAA

The Dallas Independent School district just tweeted: "At this time, please expect a regular school day for Dallas ISD." They'll let us know if anything changes... sorry, kids! - WFAA

DISD must have caved to pressure from parents or teachers that live outside of the district-they announced their closure 15 minutes ago. Only FTW and Arlington remain open I think

[ravyrn]

Ntxw, was the all-time March record of 10F recorded on a clear night? I don't believe the skies will clear out before morning, but NWS is still forecasting 13F. I'm very interested to see if the record is broken. I believe DFW is sitting at 20F atm.

Interesting fact, we're colder right now than any point west of the Rockies other than the mountains right along the border of Canada in Idaho and Washington. To find this level of cold you have to go all the way to the Canadian border if you're west of the Rockies. Tropicana is gonna be a busy bee tomorrow on his Record Low Temps thread in the US & Caribbean forum.

[Rgv20]

Wind Chill Advisory in MARCH!

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX
943 PM CST SUN MAR 2 2014

...ARCTIC BLAST HEADS FOR THE VALLEY...

.A BLAST OF COLD ARCTIC AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA BEHIND A COLD
FRONT TONIGHT. STRONG NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS WILL PERSIST
THROUGH THE DAY AND COUPLED WITH CLOUD COVER KEEP TEMPERATURES
QUITE COLD. THE COLD AIR AND WINDS WILL LEAD TO DANGEROUSLY COLD
WIND CHILL VALUES ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY AND DEEP SOUTH TEXAS.

TXZ248>257-031145-
/O.NEW.KBRO.WC.Y.0008.140303T1000Z-140303T2200Z/
ZAPATA-JIM HOGG-BROOKS-KENEDY-STARR-HIDALGO-INLAND WILLACY-
INLAND CAMERON-COASTAL WILLACY-COASTAL CAMERON-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ZAPATA...HEBBRONVILLE...FALFURRIAS...
SARITA...RIO GRANDE CITY...ROMA...MCALLEN...EDINBURG...PHARR...
MISSION...WESLACO...RAYMONDVILLE...BROWNSVILLE...HARLINGEN...
PORT MANSFIELD...PORT ISABEL...SOUTH PADRE ISLAND...
LAGUNA HEIGHTS...LAGUNA VISTA
943 PM CST SUN MAR 2 2014

...WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 4 PM CST MONDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BROWNSVILLE HAS ISSUED A WIND
CHILL ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 4 PM CST MONDAY.

* WIND CHILL VALUES...20 TO 25 DEGREES ACROSS
ZAPATA...BROOKS...JIM HOGG...AND KENEDY COUNTY. 25 TO 30 DEGREES
ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY.

* TIMING...FROM EARLY MONDAY MORNING THROUGH MOST OF THE DAY MONDAY.

* IMPACT...DANGEROUSLY COLD WIND CHILL VALUES MAY LEAD TO
FROSTBITE DURING EXTENDED PERIODS ON EXPOSED SKIN. DRESS IN
LAYERS BEFORE VENTURING OUTSIDE. CHILDREN AND ADULTS STANDING
OUTSIDE FOR LONG DURATIONS...SUCH AS AT BUS STOPS SHOULD TAKE
EXTRA PRECAUTIONS TO STAY WARM BOTH IN THE EARLY MORNING AND THE
AFTERNOON.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN WIND CHILL INDEX VALUES WILL
DROP TO 30 OR LOWER FOR AT LEAST 2 HOURS FOR THE RIO GRANDE
VALLEY AND 25 DEGREES OR LOWER FOR 2 OR MORE HOURS FOR THE RIO
GRANDE PLAINS AND NORTHERN RANCHLANDS...WITH WINDS OF 10 MPH OR
GREATER.

&&

$$

JGG

[aggiecutter]

0z GFS has that 4 letter S word getting awfully close to the Austin area on Tuesday. It also has .50 or more of QPF for Central Texas.

[ravyrn]

Haha, I found this image on google. I wouldn't be surprised if our resident Heat Miser produced this photo.

EDIT: I realize this image is particularly violent. If it is not suitable for this website, feel free to remove it mods. And let me know so that I may refrain from sharing such dark humor in the future.

[Ntxw]

Ntxw, was the all-time March record of 10F recorded on a clear night? I don't believe the skies will clear out before morning, but NWS is still forecasting 13F. I'm very interested to see if the record is broken. I believe DFW is sitting at 20F atm.

Interesting fact, we're colder right now than any point west of the Rockies other than the mountains right along the border of Canada in Idaho and Washington. To find this level of cold you have to go all the way to the Canadian border if you're west of the Rockies. Tropicana is gonna be a busy bee tomorrow on his Record Low Temps thread in the US & Caribbean forum.

I'm not certain it probably was, data that far back is hard to get a hold of. Clouds won't clear tonight and winds continue to blow making those chills below 0. We're falling solely on the power of cold air advection with little to no radiational cooling. As the case today March daylight did nothing to it, just kept falling precip or no precip. Tribute to how intensely cold this air mass is.

[ravyrn]

I'm not certain it probably was, data that far back is hard to get a hold of. Clouds won't clear tonight and winds continue to blow making those chills below 0. We're falling solely on the power of cold air advection with little to no radiational cooling. As the case today March daylight did nothing to it, just kept falling precip or no precip. Tribute to how intensely cold this air mass is.

Well DFW seems to be holding at 20F for now. IAH is at 35F, closing in on the chance of the Heat Miser making a winter concession speech. Imagine if we had this system and setup 2 months ago!

[ravyrn]

If I understand the mountain's role correctly, their effect is felt when the cold is filtering in from the NE. This year many of our cold spells have come from the "Polar Vortex" over the Great Lakes so the cold has had to traverse the mountains. This front is pulling air from the Plains so the mountains should not have an effect on our weather this time.
Your note on the very warm air aloft is valid though and will likely have an effect on the heavier stuff until the deeper cold filters in.

No, their E-W alignment is most noticed when the cold comes from the NW or NNW. If the cold comes from the NE, the damming affect isn't as deep or noticed. The ArkLaTex is SE of the Ouachita mountains.

The mountains are in SE OK which is NE of E TX. The current front is gonna have no issues with the mountains at least as far as the Tyler/Longview are is concerned.

After reflecting on this discussion and giving it further consideration I agree with you. I think you were discussing ETX while I was discussing the ArkLaTex. I concede that when the cold weather filters in from the NE, is when we experience a slowdown on the cold reaching ETX.