An arctic cold front will sweep into North Texas this week, plunging temperatures into single digits and bringing sharp winds and frigid wind chills.
The front is poised to blanket much of the country with a mixture of bitter cold and heavy snow, likely disrupting holiday travel during one of the busiest times of the year.
In North Texas, the high Wednesday will reach the low 50s before dipping to 34 overnight. Temperatures will begin to plummet midmorning Thursday and could fall into the 20s by afternoon, joined by 45-mph winds, according to the National Weather Service.
The low Friday morning is forecast in the single digits. But with the wind chill, it could feel like negative- to negative-10 degree
“It’s going to be incredibly cold,” said Allison Prater, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “This kind of cold can be very dangerous.”
Airlines have begun issuing waivers that allow travelers to reschedule their flights with no fees. Fort Worth-based American Airlines has waived change fees on flights Thursday through Sunday to and from nearly 30 airports in the Midwest and Northeast U.S.
Also Tuesday, emergency management officials in Dallas-Fort Worth raced to prepare warming shelters. In Dallas, city officials plan to open as many as four shelters with 880 beds.
Shelters include the former headquarters of homeless service provider Austin Street Center in South Dallas and the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library downtown.
If the four sites reach capacity, the city would shut them down and move people to a facility at Fair Park, which could hold more than 1,000 people.
“This could run through Christmas, potentially longer,” said Christine Crossley, homeless solutions office director. “We will see what the weather brings us.”
Emergency officials across North Texas urged residents to cover outdoor pipes, bring pets and plants inside and leave faucets dripping to protect against burst pipes.
Meanwhile, the state’s grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, sought to allay anxiety over the grid, even as demand Friday is predicted to exceed the predicted peak-winter usage.
This week’s cold blast comes nearly two years after a February 2021 winter storm crippled the state’s power system, killing more than 240 people and leaving millions without heat.
ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said Tuesday in Austin that ERCOT forecast “adequate supply with reserves for the approaching cold weather conditions.”
“Our teams continue to monitor and to prepare for this week’s cold weather in particular,” Vegas said. “We’re doing so around the clock.”
While this week’s arctic blast is already being compared to 2021, Prater said it is forecast to be shorter and less extreme with very little chance of precipitation in North Texas.
Temperatures in Dallas fell as low as minus-2 in 2021 and there were 11 straight days with highs below 40, in addition to a mixture of ice and snow.
This year, Christmas Day’s forecast calls for highs in the balmy 40s.
