North Texas braced for potentially dangerous wintry conditions and freezing temperatures as a powerful winter storm began moving into the area Friday.
Across Dallas-Fort Worth, officials and residents prepared for the storm, which is expected to cause plunging temperatures, strong winds and wintry precipitation for multiple days.
According to the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth office, forecasts call for up to half an inch of ice, with additional accumulations of 1 to 3 inches of snow across most of North Texas. The weather service, which has issued winter storm and extreme cold warnings, warned of possible power outages and that “travel could be impossible” in some areas.
Throughout Friday, temperatures are expected to fall as rain drenches the area. That precipitation will later transition to a mix of freezing rain and sleet after temperatures dip below freezing, according to forecasts. Over the weekend, temperatures are expected to become dangerously cold, dipping into the teens and single digits with bone-chilling wind chills. A thaw isn’t anticipated until early next week.
D-FW Weather Wise
Ahead of the storm, North Texas residents have swarmed grocery and home improvement stores to stock up on supplies. Local and state officials, meanwhile, have prepared warming shelters and treated roads with a saltwater brine.
Schools and colleges across the region are largely remaining open Friday.
More than 1,000 flight cancellations at D-FW airports
8:55 a.m.
At DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field, airlines have canceled more than 1,000 flights scheduled for Saturday, when winter weather conditions in North Texas are forecast to deteriorate.
Cancellations at DFW Airport had reached 1,036 shortly by 8:21 a.m., according to flight tracking site FlightAware, while Love Field had cut 136 flights.
With the worst of the storm expected to move through the area over the weekend, airlines anticipate major disruptions to air travel. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, both D-FW based, are giving customers the chance to change their flights.
Fliers who become stranded at Dallas-area airports should keep an eye on their flight status and communications from airlines, pack snacks and be prepared to wait.
— Jordan Parker
This is a developing story and will be updated.