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02/11/2010
Great North Texas Blizzard of 2010
It snowed all night...
It snowed all day...
The roads were slushy on Thursday but the temps were
dropping...
DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) kept operating...
Some of the school districts closed for the day...
Electric and phone crews kept the utilities in operation...
Meanwhile in Washington:
Global Warming Conference Cancelled Because of Blizzard in DC
Due to inclement weather, this event has been postponed. We will notify you of a
new date and time as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Algore had "No comment".
TXZ091>093-100>104-115>120-129>134-120245-
/O.CON.KFWD.WS.W.0001.000000T0000Z-100212T0600Z/
MONTAGUE-COOKE-GRAYSON-YOUNG-JACK-WISE-DENTON-COLLIN-STEPHENS-
PALO PINTO-PARKER-TARRANT-DALLAS-ROCKWALL-EASTLAND-ERATH-HOOD-
SOMERVELL-JOHNSON-ELLIS-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF.BOWIE.NOCONA.GAINESVILLE.
SHERMAN.DENISON.GRAHAM.OLNEY.JACKSBORO.DECATUR.
BRIDGEPORT.DENTON.LEWISVILLE.FLWR MOUND.THE COLONY.
PLANO.BRECKENRIDGE.MINERAL WELLS.WEATHERFORD.BRIAR.
FORT WORTH.ARLINGTON.DALLAS.ROCKWALL.CISCO.EASTLAND.
RANGER.GORMAN.STEPHENVILLE.DUBLIN.GRANBURY.
OAK TRAIL SHORES.GLEN ROSE.CLEBURNE.BURLESON.WAXAHACHIE.
ENNIS.MIDLOTHIAN.GLENN HEIGHTS
1245 PM CST THU FEB 11 2010
WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST
TONIGHT.
A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL
MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT.
AREAS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ACROSS NO. TX TODAY
AS A SLOW MOVING UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM APPROACHES FROM THE
WEST. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE BY
THIS EVENING.WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS OVER 8 INCHES POSSIBLE.
THE PRECIPITATION WILL END FROM WEST TO EAST OVERNIGHT.
ROAD CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN SLICK & HAZARDOUS THROUGH THE DAY
AS TEMPS REMAIN NEAR OR JUST BELOW FREEZING & SNOW
CONTINUES TO FALL. SIGNIFICANT TRAVEL IMPACTS ARE EXPECTED TO
CONTINUE AFTER THE PRECIPITATION ENDS & INTO EARLY FRIDAY
MORNING AS TEMPS FALL INTO THE UPPER 20S TO AROUND 30.
THIS WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE
EXPECTED TO MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.
$$
Update 02/12/10
Had about 12 inches of snow by the time it stopped at 0300 this morning.
A New All Time Record For Dallas Area.
Heavy wet snow, it's taken down trees and power lines in some places. A lot
of people woke up cold. We have gas heat, but it's fan-forced hot air, doesn't
work without the electric blower. We're okay so far. Eva's working from home
because of the icy roads and frozen slush. Had to shovel the driveway so she
could get up the slight incline into the garage last night.
Oncor: Dallas-area power outages may
last through weekend
11:47 AM CST on Friday, February 12, 2010
By ROY APPLETON and WENDY HUNDLEY / The Dallas Morning News
The record snowfall in North Texas has left at least 180,000 people without
electricity and scores of trees damaged.
"Trees, heavy with snow, are contacting power lines, causing power outages. As
the slow thaw begins today, the limbs will snap back into position, hitting
power lines," said Jim Greer, senior vice president for asset management and
engineering for Oncor Electric Delivery Co. "Restoring power in these conditions
is difficult and time consuming. That's why we have additional help on the way."
The utility said 2,500 Oncor workers and contractors were working to restore
power. Another 1,500 were expected today.
Oncor said it would focus first on public facilities, such as hospitals, police
and fire stations, followed by power lines serving the largest number of homes
and businesses.
Greer warned that the repair work could "stretch into the weekend."
He said, "We can't predict absolutely when power will be restored until we can
assess damage today."
An entire neighborhood in Lakewood was without power. Elizabeth Hurst said she
had been in the dark since about midnight and kept warm by starting a fire in
her fireplace and sleeping under a quilt.
"It really wasn't too bad," Hurst said as she used a big dustpan as a snow
shovel. "I just got under the quilt and stuck my nose out."
The storm that hit the region Thursday dropped 12.5 inches of snow at
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in the 24 hours that ended at 4 a.m.
That broke the previous 24-hour record of 12.1 inches, set on Jan. 15-16, 1964.
Snowy limbs a hazard
This morning, homeowners throughout Texas awoke to broken tree limbs. Some were
out in their bathrobes and pajamas, surveying the damage and knocking wet snow
off sagging branches.
Among them was Helen Seslowsky of Highland Park.
"Our power's out. We're trying to do the best we can. The biggest thing is we're
trying to find a chain saw," she said.
Down the street, young George Reynolds was playing outside with his dad and the
family dog. The boy said of the snow, "I love it." He was planning to go
sledding.
His little brother, Ben, said, "It's way better than school."
Meanwhile, Brittany Vigil, a junior at Southern Methodist University, wasn't
having any fun trying to get a tree limb off her car so she could get to work.
Roads and traffic
Public safety agencies had feared that frigid temperatures would turn the snow
and slush on North Texas roads, bridges, and overpasses into sheets of ice,
making the morning commute treacherous.
But temperatures never sunk below about 32, and all major roadways were
passable.
The temperature would have had to plunge to the high 20s before ice would stick
on highway surfaces.
Still, the National Weather Service warned, "It is strongly encouraged not to
venture out this morning unless absolutely necessary." And it appeared that many
people followed that advice, as traffic on freeways and ridership on buses and
trains appeared light.
"Things are relatively good," Perlich said. "People have been given plenty of
advance notice and it looks like they heeded the warning."
The Texas Department of Transportation reported no major weather-related
accidents, said spokeswoman Cynthia Northop White.
She said TxDOT had 130 pieces of equipment out all night spreading salt and sand
on roads, and de-icing materials on bridges and overpasses.
"There are some slick spots but no major ice accumulation."
The Dallas Police Department said its officers weren't seeing many accidents,
likely because drivers were staying off the roads.
"They're not bad," said Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse. "They're just wet."
The Dallas County sheriff's department worked an accident early this morning, at
Interstate 30 and Hampton Road. And a fatal accident Thursday afternoon near
Forney was been blamed on the weather. According to the Texas Department of
Public Safety, icy road conditions caused a vehicle to lose control and slide
into the path of a large truck. The victim was identified as 23-year-old Gregory
Wrape of Forney.
Trains on time
Early this morning, Dallas Area Rapid Transit riders were being told to expect
10- to 15-minute delays on trains due to icing on track switches.
By 9:30, DART said, all buses and trains, including the Trinity Railway Express,
which runs between Dallas and Fort Worth, were operating normally.
On past occasions when the weather turned bad, DART trains have been swamped
with once-in-a-while commuters who decided to take the train instead of driving.
But regular train customers said today's ridership was noticeably lighter than
usual.
This morning on the Red Line, which runs from Parker Road in Plano through
downtown Dallas, riders had benches to themselves, and no one was standing.
Digital signs at each station warned of a 10-minute delay, but traffic flowed
smoothly at each stop, with only a few passengers getting on and off.
Kenten Waldrum said he normally drives his home in the M Streets to work in
Irving, but this morning he took the train.
"The rest of the country doesn't stop just because we're having bad weather," he
said.
Michael Bulkeley, on his way downtown, said, "It's just another workday."
Airports
Anyone planning to fly out of Dallas should check first on the status of
flights, as many airlines were delaying or cancelling flights.
About 200 flights were canceled this morning at D/FW International Airport, but
they are resuming, said spokesman David Magana.
"With the snow slowing down, we're going to have a better day," he said. "We do
have flights going out now. The first flight went out at 5:30 a.m."
Yesterday, he said, 350 to 400 out of 850 flights were canceled.
At Dallas Love Field, the usual morning hustle of business travelers was
replaced by folks milling around seemingly in no particular hurry.
Rodney Caldwell of Frisco was with his wife and son trying to get to Tampa for a
youth hockey tournament.
"We thought about staying home," he said. Their flight was listed as on time.
Jeremy Smith of Kansas City wasn't so lucky; his flight was canceled.
"Just get me home as soon as they can," he said.
Justin Mueller, trying to get to Tulsa, Okla., for an interview, said he thought
about renting a car, but decided to take his chances.
"I haven't even checked the status of my flight this morning," he said. "I just
don't want to know."
The forecast
The Weather Service said snow was still falling early this morning in a few
eastern areas, "but otherwise the record snowfall event has ended across North
Texas."
By this afternoon, temperatures will rise to the high 30s, meaning dangerous ice
patches should start to thaw. But Eric Martello, a Weather Service
meteorologist, said it could take days for 12 inches of snow to melt throughout
the area.
The forecast for Saturday calls for sunny skies and highs in the 50s.
By Sunday – when the National Basketball Association's All-Star Game will be
played before what is expected to be a record crowd at Cowboys Stadium in
Arlington – the highs will be upper 40s, with some winds and a 20 percent chance
of rain.
Closures
With very few exceptions, school districts, private schools, community colleges
and universities throughout the region were closed today.
The City of Dallas had already declared today as a "furlough day," closing all
nonessential city offices as a cost-saving measure.
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