Cold front, rain headed to Fort Worth area

North Texas should start 2015 cold and wet, perhaps a little icy.

A cold front moved into the Fort Worth area overnight, bringing temperatures that are expected to dip into the mid-20s late Tuesday and early Wednesday, according to the latest forecast.

It’s not a well-defined arctic blast, but the front will definitely “be pumping in cold air from the north,” said Matt Stalley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

A mass of warm, moist air from the south is expected to join the cold front late Wednesday, which could bring a chance of freezing rain to the area.

“The Metroplex is going to be right on the fringe” of the wintry mix, Stalley said.

Because Arlington’s AT&T Stadium has a roof, the New Year’s Day Cotton Bowl Classic between Baylor and Michigan State should go off without a hitch, but the weather could make for a chilly and slick Armed Forces Bowl between Pittsburgh and Houston on Friday morning at TCU’s Amon Carter Stadium.

The high temperature Tuesday should reach the low 40s, and the mercury is expected to drop to the mid-20s overnight. Wednesday’s high will be a chilly 34, with a 20 percent chance of overnight rain and/or sleet.

Rain chances increase to 50 percent on New Year’s Day, with the best chance for freezing precipitation west of Interstate 35W.

Any rain would be a good start for 2015 in North Texas, which remains in “exceptional drought.”

As of Monday, 21.32 inches of rain had fallen at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport for the year, 14.61 inches below normal. If the rain totals hold, 2014 will go down as the 13th-driest year on record, and the worst since 2005, in North Texas.

This story was originally published December 29, 2014 at 11:36 AM with the headline "Cold front, rain headed to Fort Worth area."