The 2026 weather storm kept North Texans stuck at home for days, but it also provided the annual dose of snow fun.
Even with a broken record or two, some elements weren’t as severe as originally forecast. Other parts of the country, including Mississippi and Tennessee, saw widespread power outages and damage to trees from ice accumulation.
Here’s Dallas-Forth Worth’s winter storm statistical breakdown:
Temperature
D-FW Weather Wise
Frigid temperatures were a major threat to homes and human safety, with an extreme cold warning issued by the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth office that ran from the evening of Saturday, Jan. 24, through the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 27. The temperature at DFW International Airport fell to 13 degrees on Sunday, Jan. 25, the coldest day since February 2025. The metro area saw 58 continuous hours below freezing before rising just above 32 degrees for a few hours in the afternoon on Monday, Jan. 26. Temperatures fell back below freezing shortly thereafter.
SOURCE: National Weather Service
Michael Hogue
The chilly temperatures weren’t as cold as the 2021 winter storm, though, when the low reached negative 2 degrees. The coldest wind chill of this storm, at negative 5 degrees, also didn’t compare to 2021, when the wind chill reached negative 17.
Snow and wind
SOURCE: National Weather Service
Michael Hogue
Before the storm arrived, Dallas-Fort Worth was forecast to get 1 to 3 inches of snow and sleet, on top of a quarter to a half an inch of ice. That snow and sleet forecast mostly came true, with 2.4 inches reported at DFW Airport.
But ice accumulation from freezing rain was mostly avoided, with Dallas receiving less than a tenth of an inch. Meteorologists said the region saw less freezing rain than expected because of delayed temperature drops and a slightly unusual pattern in the atmosphere.
Freezing rain forms as snow in the upper atmosphere before passing through a large layer of warmer air and refreezing as ice as it hits the ground. Meteorologist Miles Langfeld said the warm layer of air in the atmosphere was still present at the start of the storm, but it was cold enough below that layer for snow to form underneath it.
SOURCE: National Weather Service
Michael Hogue
The wind wasn’t howling the entire time, but when it did, gusts were strong. The highest wind gust was 35 miles per hour during the early morning of Sunday, Jan. 25. Regular wind speeds ranged from the upper teens to mid-20s over the weekend.
Impacts from the weather
The impacts of the winter storm were felt in many ways across North Texas, including frozen roads, grocery stores limiting their hours and school cancellations.
Outages peaked on the morning of Jan. 25,
with 34,000 across the Oncor service area.
That area includes 98 counties in West, North
and Central Texas.
SOURCE: Oncor
Michael Hogue
In terms of the power grid, widespread outages were not an issue like they were in 2021, but thousands still lost power. Oncor, the power provider for much of North, Central and East Texas, said outages peaked in the early morning on Sunday, Jan. 25, when approximately 34,000 customers were without power. Spokesperson Kerri Dunn said power outages fluctuated throughout the winter storm because multiple rounds of precipitation and vehicle accidents affected power lines.
Between Jan. 24 and Jan. 26 at DFW Airport
SOURCE: FlightAware
Michael Hogue
DFW Airport, the central hub for American Airlines, saw stranded passengers and thousands of cancellations. From Saturday, Jan. 24, through Monday, Jan. 26, 4,000 flights were canceled at the airport. During the same period, Dallas Love Field saw over 500 cancellations.
Another warm, sunny day forecast for North Texas. When will rain return?Heat returns to North Texas with a warm, somewhat sunny Sunday