Posted on 01/12/2007 2:09:16 PM PST by Dysart
National Weather Service has upgraded its severe weather predictions for this weekend, with expectations that parts of Tarrant County could see accumulations of a quarter- to a half-inch of ice.
Forecasters with the weather service's office in Fort Worth began the day with a severe weather watch, but new data received early Friday afternoon indicate that dangerous ice is probable for some areas of Tarrant County.
"We're not saying it's going to be all over the place,"' said Jennifer Dunn, a meteorologist for the weather service. "But, at this time, it appears some places will definitely have it."
At 2 p.m., an Arctic front stretched from near Cisco to just south of Bridgeport and on over to Gainesville, the weather service reported. Temperatures south of the front were in the 60s, but readings north of there, in southwestern Oklahoma, had plunged to the 20s and 30s.
Meanwhile, a wide band of eastbound rain showers was developing over West Texas and pushing toward the Metroplex, Dunn said.
The rain and cold air was expected to converge around midnight in Tarrant County, but areas further west were expected to see it a lot sooner, and they were expected to see more of the ice.
For example, Dunn said, predictions call for possible accumulations of a half-inch to an inch of ice in Palo Pinto and Wise Counties as early as 6 p.m.
And it's not expected to let up until about 6 p.m. Sunday, Dunn said.
"It will be one wave of precipitation after another," she said. "That's why we're calling it a weekend event."
Projections indicate that Tarrant County will be on the edge of the severe weather warning area, while Dallas County was only expected to be in a severe weather watch this weekend.
But that could change suddenly, Dunn said.
Roads and bridges become especially treacherous when coated with ice, so motorists should be extremely cautious, Dunn said.
Saturday's high is expected to be 31 degrees. The nighttime low will be 28, and it won't get much warmer than that during the day on Sunday, when the forecast calls for a high of 29 and a low of 24.
The freezing rain will let up Sunday night, and the Martin Luther King holiday forecast for Monday calls for partly cloudy skies, with a high of 31 and a low of 24.
But Dunn said the region will remain cold for a few days.
"We won't get above 35 degrees until mid next week," she said. "This mass of cold air will be stretching across all of the United States, with high pressure pushing it to the south. So, it will be socked in here for awhile."
Wow, doesn't sound good at all there. Hope you have a fireplace and plenty of dry wood as you may be on your own for a few days if the lines go down.
Things not too bad here yet, though our big event is expected tomorrow am and through the day. About an inch of freezing rain expected.
Good luck to you and yours.
No fireplace. No stove. But plenty of thermal underwear.
Winter Storm Warning
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX 1220 PM CST SAT JAN 13 2007
...WINTER STORM SYSTEM TO LIKELY PRODUCE ICY WEATHER OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS LATE TONIGHT THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY...
.A LARGE UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WILL INTERACT WITH AN ARCTIC SURGE OF COLD AIR TO PRODUCE A DANGEROUS ICE STORM OVER SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS. COLD AIR WILL SPILL SOUTH ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT WITH NEAR FREEZING CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP AFTER MIDNIGHT ACROSS AN AREA GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF AN SONORA TO LEAKEY TO NEW BRAUNFELS TO LAGRANGE LINE. THE AIR TEMPERATURES SHOULD MODERATE ONLY SLIGHTLY DURING THE DAY SUNDAY BEFORE THE SUB-FREEZING AIR PROCEEDS SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS SUNDAY NIGHT.
ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO OVERRUN THIS COLD AIR MASS THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY. MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL FALL AS RAIN AND FREEZING RAIN THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON...WITH SOME AREAS SEEING LIQUID PRECIPITATION CHANGING OVER SNOW AS EARLY AS MONDAY. SIGNIFICANT ICE ACCUMULATIONS UP TO ONE-HALF TO ONE INCH ARE POSSIBLE.
TXZ171>173-184>194-206-208-209-140600- /O.NEW.KEWX.WS.W.0001.070114T0600Z-070115T1800Z/ LLANO-BURNET-WILLIAMSON-EDWARDS-REAL-KERR-BANDERA-GILLESPIE- KENDALL-BLANCO-HAYS-TRAVIS-BASTROP-LEE-COMAL-CALDWELL-FAYETTE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...LLANO...BURNET...GEORGETOWN... ROCKSPRINGS...LEAKEY...KERRVILLE...BANDERA...FREDERICKSBURG... BOERNE...BLANCO...SAN MARCOS...AUSTIN...BASTROP...GIDDINGS... NEW BRAUNFELS...LOCKHART...LA GRANGE 1220 PM CST SAT JAN 13 2007
...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 12 PM CST MONDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 12 PM CST MONDAY.
EXPECT RAIN TO CHANGE OVER TO FREEZING RAIN LATE TONIGHT AS TEMPERATURE FALL TO FREEZING. A FEW PATCHES OF SLEET ARE POSSIBLE. OVERRUNNING RAIN AND FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED TO PERSIST THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY MORNING WITH SOME AREAS SEEING THE RAIN CHANGING TO SNOW MONDAY. THE CHANCE OF FROZEN PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY...BUT AMOUNTS ARE EPXECTED TO DECREASE AFTER MIDDAY MONDAY.
ACCUMULATIONS OF ICE COULD REACH ONE-HALF TO ONE INCH DUE TO THE CONTINUED EXPOSURE TO FREEZING TEMPERATURES. THIS COULD RESULT IN DAMAGE TO POWERLINES AND TREES. HAZARDOUS TRAVEL WILL BE EXACERBATED BY THE EXCESS RUNOFF FROM HEAVY RAINS...WHICH COULD RESULT IN MANY ROAD CLOSURES.
A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW...SLEET... FREEZING RAIN OR FREEZING DRIZZLE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. THIS WILL CAUSE CONSIDERABLE TRAVEL PROBLEMS AND MAY POSE A THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY.
ANOTHER STATEMENT ON THIS RAPIDLY EVOLVING WEATHER EVENT WILL BE ISSUED BY LATE THIS EVENING.
Weather guy is saying that the enormous storm is pulling gulf moisture up into our area. It is also slow moving which is prob. why you didn't get your mess until later than first forecasted.
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