Brrr....

[My Alter Ego]

Unfortunately, it looks as though the song that I "borrowed" a line from for the Thanksgiving thread ("Looks like a cold, cold winter, plenty of ice and snow") may be the standard for the next few months (yes, I know -- it is that time of year).

Good grief! A 60 degree temperature drop within a two day span of time in Dallas????? Miguel, I hope your water pipes will be OK.

And for those of you in the Midwest, stay warm and stay safe.

Brrr....

[Himm2]

[Miguel]

Good grief! A 60 degree temperature drop within a two day span of time in Dallas?????

Yep, quite the change.

Dallas Morning News (.com):

Accidents piling up on highways, multiple school districts cancel Friday classes

Update at 10:36 p.m.: First, the good news: Much of the freezing rain in the area is turning into sleet, which will keep ice from accumulating on power lines. At least that’s the story from Fort Worth to Denton, where there have been quarter-inch accumulations over the last couple of hours.

In Dallas, bridges and overpasses are beginning to ice over, as evidenced by the myriad accidents being reported below. Everything else is encased in ice too; but, for now, the roads are just wet as temperatures hover around the freezing mark.

But that will change overnight, says Ted Ryan, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth office.

“The precipitation will increase and continue till 6 a.m., maybe as late as 8, and when the sun comes up there should be 1/4 inch of ice on the ground and an inch of sleet on top of that. And what that will do ice ice over all the roads.”

The transition to sleet’s good news for those seeing it. “Freezing rain,” says Barker, “is the worst thing you can have. It causes legitimate destruction to trees and houses and cars. Sleet is better, and the fact a lot has gone to sleet is good news in terms of outages. But we’re concerned about areas north of Dallas, in McKinney and Bonham, which will get some pretty bad icing that may bring those trees down.”

What you’ll need to know when you wake up is simple: “The whole area will struggle with travel issues. Hopefully people won’t lose power, but everything is going as planned — pretty much iced-over roads in the morning, which is why school district canceled classes.”

And the temperature is expected to stay well below freezing all day tomorrow — and Saturday too, when a second, lighter round of precip is due.

“The ice will stick around all day,” says Barker. “We’re not used to that, but that’s how it’ll be tomorrow — it’s not going to get better.”

[midnightblues]

I live in the high desert and it has bin in the 20s at night.

[My Alter Ego]

Miguel, how long have you lived in Dallas? I remember the couple of times that I visited my sister (in Dallas) in the late eighties, she mentioned that the area would get an occasional ice storm, but the way she spoke, it really didn't seem as though it was an annual occurence. But lately, it seems as though I'm hearing about them happening a bit more frequently. Do you think that's the case?

MNB-man, this cold blast from the North is impacting the entire country, it seems.

The ironic part of it is that it's not "officially" winter (in the Northern Hemisphere) for another 15 days. While looking up when winter begins this year, I noticed this post from 2010:

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-ne...ld-m/36990

[Miguel]

Miguel, how long have you lived in Dallas? I remember the couple of times that I visited my sister (in Dallas) in the late eighties, she mentioned that the area would get an occasional ice storm, but the way she spoke, it really didn't seem as though it was an annual occurence. But lately, it seems as though I'm hearing about them happening a bit more frequently. Do you think that's the case?

I've been in Dallas since 1996. But in that time I returned to Houston for a couple of years. I only recall a few major ice storms. The most recent, and worst, was during the SuperBowl so it was well-publicized. I first encountered ice not long after I moved to Dallas. I walked out of my apartment and immediately slipped on the steps. Fortunately, it was a ground-floor apartment and there only a couple of steps.

We've also had a couple of snowfalls in recent years that might have also made the news. The last one was an honest-to-goodness snowfall like I experienced as a child in the Midwest.

[Miguel]

That's what apparently happened to this car:

[My Alter Ego]

^^Oh -- ouch! I'm glad that's not my car, but I sympathize completely!

This weather experience must hard to deal with if one has no prior history to draw on.

[Haleylvr4evr]

So happy we will actually have snow on Christmas! The past 2-3 years have been so dry and unseasonably warm (40's and 50s) but right now its cold and snowy

[My Alter Ego]

So happy we will actually have snow on Christmas! The past 2-3 years have been so dry and unseasonably warm (40's and 50s) but right now its cold and snowy

Haley4evr, I'm glad that you will have the appropriate seasonal weather that you want.

Meanwhile, Mother Nature has unleashed yet another storm (the first official "winter" storm?) that has left many in the Great Lakes (primarily Michigan), upstate New York, and New England without power that could last for a few days.

I do hope that all Haliens are safe and warm, and I wish you a Merry Christmas!