Snowfall across Tarrant County gives way to sunshine

The much-anticipated snowfall put a dusting on North Texas Wednesday morning, giving way all-too-soon to patches of blue sky and sunshine..

The snowfall turned out to be a little lighter than expected.

Most of the DFW area saw at least a dusting, but the heaviest snow fell farther south.

Reports of an inch to an inch-and-a-half of snow were reported from Stephenville to Merdian. Waxahachie, Hillsboro and Corsicana also saw heavier snow. Parts of Navarro County received more than 3 inches of snow.

Snow came to an end in Tarrant County around 10 a.m., and the gray skies soon turned blue and sunny.

The main bands of snow set up a little father south than expected.

“With a tight, compact storm like this, even 30 miles or one county south can make a huge difference,” said WFAA/Channel 8 meteorologist Colleen Coyle.

For much of the early morning hours, DFW saw mostly rain or sleet instead of snow.

Coyle said temperatures stayed slightly warmer above the ground at 4-5,000 feet, meaning most of what fell early in the morning came down as rain or sleet. Temperatures at the ground were also a little warmer than expected, staying at or above freezing in most areas.

“I keep telling everybody a degreee or two makes a huge difference,” Coyle said. “If it had even been a degree or so cooler, we might have seen a winter wonderland around here.”

The snow began falling around 7 a.m. in Benbrook and downtown Fort Worth and eventually spread eastward across the entire DFW area.

“Just about everyone saw at least a dusting a snow,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Lamont Bain.

But with temperatures just above freezing, it wasn’t sticking around very long.

A winter weather advisory was in effect in DFW until noon today and areas south of east of Dallas are still seeing heavy bands of snow..

Before the snow arrived, rains soaked North Texas for hours early Wednesday. At 6 a.m., Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, the official recording station for DFW, had recorded 0.54 inches of rain, and moisture was still coming.

The rain turned to a rain/sleet mixture, causing more problems for motorists on several roads and highways in North Texas.

For the third consecutive day, Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County canceled delivery of food to residents because of the icy conditions.

“Canceling today's meal delivery was a difficult decision and one that I did not make lightly,” said Carla Jutson, president and CEO of Meals On Wheels, Inc., of Tarrant County in a news release. “Meals on Wheels relies on over 400 volunteers each day to deliver meals to our homebound clients. We must think of the safety of these wonderful people and not put them in harm's way. Even when main thoroughfares are sanded, the side streets, sidewalks, and steps to homes remain slippery and are a danger for our volunteers. The safety and well-being of our clients and volunteers is always my top priority.”

School districts took different approaches to the weather.

Crowley ISD closed. Some school districts, Fort Worth ISD, Northwest ISD and Burleson ISD were opening two hours late. But other school districts, including Arlington, Mansfield and Keller, announced that they were operating on regular schedules.

At DFW Airport, 125 flights had been canceled as of this morning. Twenty-five cancellations were reported at Dallas Love Field, where rain was mixing with sleet and light fog.

Fort Worth police reported on Twitter that officers were working accidents in north Fort Worth. I-35W southbound was backed up because of the weather and a wreck.

There was also a report of an overturned 18-wheeler at U.S. 377 and Interstate 20 in Benbrook, but impacts on roads appeared to be relatively minor..

The good news is it won’t stick around for long. By this afternoon, high temperatures are expected to reach the upper 40s.

Forecasters said a warm band of air at 5,000 feet had kept much of the precipitation as rain or sleet for much of the morning.

Keeping an eye on roads

Highways were monitored overnight with de-icing material ready to be applied to roads as needed, Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman Natalie Galindo said.

The Fort Worth district, which includes Tarrant County and eight other counties on the west side of the DFW Metroplex, started off the winter season with 37,000 tons of de-icing material, including sand, brine and magnesium chloride.

More than 225 employees have worked 12-hour shifts to clear North Texas roads, and for the most part their efforts have paid off.

“Throughout each event we replenish the materials we have used so we are ready for the next event,” Galindo said.

Tuesday’s commutes were relatively ice-free in Tarrant County.

Traffic on the main roads in Tarrant County — Interstate 35W, Interstate 30 and the North Tarrant Express — moved smoothly Tuesday morning, but police and firefighters did find problems with accidents caused by icy conditions on overpasses and bridges.

“Most of the problems are on bridges and overpasses,” TxDOT spokesman Val Lopez said.

Lopez said road crews were out with graders to remove the slush on highways Tuesday afternoon as temperatures climbed above freezing.

Traffic was also light, partly because most area school districts had announced that they would be closed on Tuesday. No decisions have been made yet regarding Wednesday’s potential snowstorm.

The Fort Worth Transportation Authority, also known as the T, plans to operate a normal bus schedule Wednesday, spokeswoman Joan Hunter said. However, riders might experience minor delays, she said, depending upon factors such as road conditions.

The T has sanding trucks at its disposal and has also mapped out potential detours in the event of slick streets.

The Trinity Railway Express commuter train service also will run a regular schedule, and has special equipment to heat the tracks. TRE platforms and ramps will be sanded as necessary, to prevent falls, Hunter said.

Back in business at DFW

At DFW Airport, airlines canceled 129 arrivals and 101 departures on Tuesday. On Monday, American Airlines alone canceled more than 1,000 flights.

Airport crews have kept four runways open continuously during the last two days.

“We’ve had everyone running in shifts for a couple of days and we’ll stay on that schedule to keep the runways and taxiways clear,” said DFW Airport spokesman David Magaña.

American Airlines canceled 242 arrivals and departures across its system on Tuesday and has already canceled 170 flights systemwide for Wednesday in advance of the predicted snow.

Forecasters are predicting another chance of snow on Friday. For now, that snow event is expected to be much lighter.

“Three events in five days is pretty unusual but obviously we saw a similar event four years ago,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Dan Huckaby.

Staff writers Andrea Ahles, Gordon Dickson and Domingo Ramirez Jr. contributed to this report.

This story was originally published February 24, 2015 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Snowfall across Tarrant County gives way to sunshine."