Texas Winter 2020-2021

[Iceresistance]

@NWSFortWorth — The low temperature at DFW Airport was -2 F at 6:28 a.m. CST. This breaks the previous DAILY record of 12 F set in 1903, and is the coldest temperature recorded at the official Dallas/Fort Worth climate site since January 31, 1949. (1/3)

This ties for the second coldest minimum temperature in city history, with records extending back to 1898. The only colder minimum temperature to be recorded is the all-time record low of -8 F on February 12, 1899. (2/3)

History of the official DFW climate site (since obviously DFW Airport wasn't there in 1903):
1898-1934: Fort Worth federal building
1935-1939: Federal courthouse Fort Worth
1940-1952: Fort Worth Meacham Field
1953-1973: Amon Carter Field
1974-present: DFW Airport. (3/3)

JEEZ! How cold did it get in OKC?

My house got down to -12°F

@NWSNorman — The official Oklahoma City temperatures at Will Rogers World Airport has fallen to -14. This is the coldest official OKC temperature recorded since February 12, 1899.
#okwx

This is the Cold of the Century!

[Iceresistance]

Where is Wxman57? I haven't seen him post since this storm hit.

He is just waiting for his butler to tell him how things are going at his Houston Home, he is in Perth, AU . . .

He will return later this week to help us get out of the Polar Vortex, the cold is fun only to a certain point . . .

[Texas Snowman]

@NWSFortWorth — The low temperature this morning at Waco Regional Airport was -1 F at 1:24 a.m. This breaks the previous DAILY record of 16 F set in 2007, and is the coldest temperature recorded at the official Waco climate site since December 23, 1989. (1/3)

@NWSFortWorth — This ties the third coldest minimum temperature in city history, with records extending back to 1902. The only two colder minimum temperatures to be recorded are -5 F on January 31, 1949 and -4 F on December 23, 1989. (2/3)

@NWSFortWorth — Like DFW, the Waco climate site has moved around:
1902-1939: Waco cooperative observer sites (various locations)
1940-1942: Rich Field
1943-present: Waco Regional Airport, and its predecessors at same physical location (i.e. Blackland Field and Waco Municipal Airport). (3/3)

[Ntxw]

That -2F is very impressive. We talk all the time about these cold blasts and to experience one is amazing. There was something to it when we kept seeing insane map temps that we often discard. At what point the question was "how many more maps do you need?" This was seen coming from a long way away relatively speaking.

-2F is the coldest DFW airport itself has ever recorded. 1949 and 1899 were at different sites further west where it is typically a little colder.

[bubba hotep]

@NWSFortWorth — The low temperature at DFW Airport was -2 F at 6:28 a.m. CST. This breaks the previous DAILY record of 12 F set in 1903, and is the coldest temperature recorded at the official Dallas/Fort Worth climate site since January 31, 1949. (1/3)

This ties for the second coldest minimum temperature in city history, with records extending back to 1898. The only colder minimum temperature to be recorded is the all-time record low of -8 F on February 12, 1899. (2/3)

History of the official DFW climate site (since obviously DFW Airport wasn't there in 1903):
1898-1934: Fort Worth federal building
1935-1939: Federal courthouse Fort Worth
1940-1952: Fort Worth Meacham Field
1953-1973: Amon Carter Field
1974-present: DFW Airport. (3/3)

I'm calling it. Given the urban heat Island effect, this cold outbreak rivals 1899 for the most extreme cold outbreak ever recorded for N. Texas.

[bubba hotep]

Also, how about those board members that called -2F yesterday when FWD still had a forecast of 2F up

[Ntxw]

Also, how about those board members that called -2F yesterday when FWD still had a forecast of 2F up

It was pretty easy tbh . Consistently for this blast whatever they forecast, drop it by 5. In this case a record was involved and you know DFW's luck so a tie for #2 was inevitable. Always missing out to break records by 1. That tabulates to -2F!

[Iceresistance]

Also, how about those board members that called -2F yesterday when FWD still had a forecast of 2F up

It was pretty easy tbh . Consistently for this blast whatever they forecast, drop it by 5. In this case a record was involved and you know DFW's luck so a tie for #2 was inevitable. Always missing out to break records by 1. That tabulates to -2F!

Texas Snowman called for a low of -1°F in DFW . . .

[CentralTxAggie]

Checking in from the frozen Portastorm Weather Center where it currently is six degrees! Some parts of Travis County in the NW, more rural areas are near zero right now. I am one of the fortunate few who has power. I live next to a water treatment plant so I think my "grid" was considered essential by Austin Energy and not shut off. Lots of people I know do not have power and have not had power for 15+ hours. I did salvage my tankless water heater yesterday and have hot water as I ran a steady stream of cold/hot water all night. That is what the plumbers recommended and it worked.

To be honest, my enthusiasm for this once-in-a-lifetime event has been tempered by the misery and damage it has caused to so many people.

I agree with you Porta, this has gone beyond excitement for us weather enthusiasts. I'll offer my different perspective on how we are weathering this event.
Although we lived in central Texas for several years, my husband and I are now retired fulltime RV travelers. We came down to New Braunfels to keep annual doctor visits etc., figuring Feb in central Texas would be less cold than other parts of the country or the state. What a shock!
We are blessed in that although we live in an RV, we have resources that most people in "sticks and bricks" homes do not have. We started this event with a full propane tank, diesel generator, and regular electric space heaters. We are once again blessed that we have not lost electric power totally, we are going through the rolling outages, which allows us opportunity to warm things up somewhat during the roll on time periods. All 3 sources for provision of heat have been utilized and we've managed to keep the temp inside the rig in the 60s. My husband spent a couple hours yesterday clearing as much snow off the outside of the rig so that the sun could warm it up. We're hoping to have our propane tank topped off on Wednesday. Some of the other RVers in the park have already run out of propane and are relying on generators, and they are at the mercy of how much fuel they have.
Now we face another round of wintry precip. I still have my fascination for weather and the extremes it can provide, but am humbled by the experience of the force of weather. We're praying for those who do not have the resources that we do.

[Texas Snowman]

Sun is going down, winds are slowing, skies are clear. Snow/ice pack is fresh. Setting stage for the coldest night in Texas since 1989. How low will the thermometers go? .

-4 in Sherman/Denison, -1 in Dallas.

Guessed right for Texoma, guessed wrong for DFW. Let the heat island effect lead me astray by a single degree! Oh well, better luck in 2120!!!!!

[bubba hotep]

Looks like high clouds are already moving in and that should help protect the snow pack. Hi-res models are a mixed bag of qpf placement and temp profiles. It looks like there will be a SW to NE gradient across DFW for snow. The farther N & E the better chance at snow. Wouldn't be surprised to see 5"+ new snow for the northern and northeastern burbs.

[bubba hotep]

Also, how about those board members that called -2F yesterday when FWD still had a forecast of 2F up

It was pretty easy tbh . Consistently for this blast whatever they forecast, drop it by 5. In this case a record was involved and you know DFW's luck so a tie for #2 was inevitable. Always missing out to break records by 1. That tabulates to -2F!

Texas Snowman called for a low of -1°F in DFW . . .

Should have cheated off Ntxw & myself lol

[bubba hotep]

[Texas Snowman]

To me, the -6 at Tyler, -5 at Longview and -3 at Nacogdoches were as unbelievable as anything else that has happened in this cold wave.

Tyler and Longview set all-time record lows this morning, not sure about Nacogdoches.

[utweather]

Checking in from the frozen Portastorm Weather Center where it currently is six degrees! Some parts of Travis County in the NW, more rural areas are near zero right now. I am one of the fortunate few who has power. I live next to a water treatment plant so I think my "grid" was considered essential by Austin Energy and not shut off. Lots of people I know do not have power and have not had power for 15+ hours. I did salvage my tankless water heater yesterday and have hot water as I ran a steady stream of cold/hot water all night. That is what the plumbers recommended and it worked.

To be honest, my enthusiasm for this once-in-a-lifetime event has been tempered by the misery and damage it has caused to so many people.

I agree with you Porta, this has gone beyond excitement for us weather enthusiasts. I'll offer my different perspective on how we are weathering this event.
Although we lived in central Texas for several years, my husband and I are now retired fulltime RV travelers. We came down to New Braunfels to keep annual doctor visits etc., figuring Feb in central Texas would be less cold than other parts of the country or the state. What a shock!
We are blessed in that although we live in an RV, we have resources that most people in "sticks and bricks" homes do not have. We started this event with a full propane tank, diesel generator, and regular electric space heaters. We are once again blessed that we have not lost electric power totally, we are going through the rolling outages, which allows us opportunity to warm things up somewhat during the roll on time periods. All 3 sources for provision of heat have been utilized and we've managed to keep the temp inside the rig in the 60s. My husband spent a couple hours yesterday clearing as much snow off the outside of the rig so that the sun could warm it up. We're hoping to have our propane tank topped off on Wednesday. Some of the other RVers in the park have already run out of propane and are relying on generators, and they are at the mercy of how much fuel they have.
Now we face another round of wintry precip. I still have my fascination for weather and the extremes it can provide, but am humbled by the experience of the force of weather. We're praying for those who do not have the resources that we do.

Has anybody figured out yet how some areas get rolling blackouts and others permanent blackouts. I was lucky to get a brief 1.5hr window but other Austin areas east and south have not been turned on and their water lines are bursting. After mine came on for a minute the governor was talking on kxan news and said within 2 hours everything is ok and those others will get theres back on. Nope instead within 2hrs mine went out and theirs stayed off.

[jasons2k]

Good morning just north of Houston. I got down to 11 degrees - I was predicting a low of 5F, so warmer than expected here. I still have power, thankfully, but feel guilty for it. My Dad up in Allen has had 30 minutes of power in the last 24 hours.

[utpmg]

Has anybody figured out yet how some areas get rolling blackouts and others permanent blackouts. I was lucky to get a brief 1.5hr window but other Austin areas east and south have not been turned on and their water lines are bursting. After mine came on for a minute the governor was talking on kxan news and said within 2 hours everything is ok and those others will get theres back on. Nope instead within 2hrs mine went out and theirs stayed off.

Around here at least it's if you're sharing grid with essential service, like a hospital. I am in Windsor Park and 33 hours without power. A friend close in the newer Mueller district has had power, probably because they share with Dell Children's hospital.

[utweather]

Has anybody figured out yet how some areas get rolling blackouts and others permanent blackouts. I was lucky to get a brief 1.5hr window but other Austin areas east and south have not been turned on and their water lines are bursting. After mine came on for a minute the governor was talking on kxan news and said within 2 hours everything is ok and those others will get theres back on. Nope instead within 2hrs mine went out and theirs stayed off.

Around here at least it's if you're sharing grid with essential service, like a hospital. I am in Windsor Park and 33 hours without power. A friend close in the newer Mueller district has had power, probably because they share with Dell Children's hospital.

Yes I get it that if you share a grid with a hospital or treatment plant your power never goes off. But I thought a rolling blackout for the rest of us meant that the power would be cutoff temporarily each hour for maybe up to an hour and then back on again for an hour as another area took its sacrifice. Instead they just flip the switch off and never rotated.

[Iceresistance]

Well, I might be one of the lucky ones here, never lost power even though I'm in the countryside, I have CVEC (Canadian Valley) as the one who supplies power to my home . . .

I feel really bad for those who don't have power, this is the Storm of the Century.

Normally it's either extreme cold or extreme snow & usually rolling blackouts are not needed, but this is a extreme case of both extreme cold & snow & rolling blackouts are needed to prevent overloading . . .

[utweather]

Has anybody figured out yet how some areas get rolling blackouts and others permanent blackouts. I was lucky to get a brief 1.5hr window but other Austin areas east and south have not been turned on and their water lines are bursting. After mine came on for a minute the governor was talking on kxan news and said within 2 hours everything is ok and those others will get theres back on. Nope instead within 2hrs mine went out and theirs stayed off.

Around here at least it's if you're sharing grid with essential service, like a hospital. I am in Windsor Park and 33 hours without power. A friend close in the newer Mueller district has had power, probably because they share with Dell Children's hospital.

I guess if this next round of precip causes power lines to fall they dont get to decide who gets to keep their power.
I still want to see some sort of audit of who was able to have power but was denied.