Record-breaking cold has paralyzed North Texas as Winter Storm Fern blanketed the region with up to 2 inches of sleet, plunging temperatures to historic lows and leaving thousands without power across the state.
The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex awoke Sunday to a frozen landscape and temperatures that forecasters say will likely shatter records dating back decades. The mercury is expected to reach only 19 degrees today — which would set a new record for the lowest high temperature ever recorded on January 25.
And it gets worse. Overnight lows are predicted to drop to a bone-chilling 9 degrees, breaking the standing record low of 12 degrees. Bundle up, North Texans — this is historic cold.
Sleet, Snow Blanket Region Unevenly
Winter Storm Fern didn’t distribute its frozen precipitation evenly. Most of the Dallas-Fort Worth area received 1 to 2 inches of accumulation, consisting primarily of sleet, while areas north of the metroplex saw significantly higher totals reaching 3 to 5 inches of a snow and sleet mix. Areas to the south reported accumulations of around 1 inch, according to local weather services.
The good news? The worst of the precipitation appears to be over. “Winter Storm Fern has brought around an inch to 1.5 inches of sleet to North Texas, and forecasters Sunday said not much more is expected,” noted meteorologists tracking the system.
Still, isolated snow showers remain possible throughout the day, and the dangerously cold temperatures will persist, creating hazardous road conditions across the region.
Power Grid Holding, But Local Outages Persist
Remember 2021? Many Texans certainly do, with memories of widespread power failures during that year’s devastating winter storm. The question on everyone’s mind: Will the lights stay on?
So far, the statewide electrical grid appears to be holding up to the frigid conditions. That’s the positive takeaway. However, local outages have left more than 120,000 homes and businesses without power as of Sunday morning, with the majority concentrated in East Texas near the Louisiana border, reports indicate.
These outages appear to be related to local distribution issues rather than grid-wide failures, according to monitoring services. PowerOutage.us has been tracking the situation as temperatures continue to plummet.
Officials are urging residents to conserve energy where possible while maintaining safe heating levels. They also recommend checking on elderly neighbors and ensuring pets have warm shelter.
With temperatures expected to remain below freezing for at least the next 48 hours, North Texans are hunkering down for what might be remembered as one of the coldest stretches in recent memory — a winter storm that arrived with a whisper of sleet but speaks volumes with its record-breaking cold.
