2015 off to a wet start in North Texas

The much-needed rain has come and gone, and a new cold front is on its way.

For drought-plagued North Texas, 2015 is off to a wet start, with 1.29 inches falling so far at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. The heaviest rain came after 11 p.m. Friday when a passing thunderstorm dumped 0.35 inch on the already-soggy Fort Worth area.

The area desperately needs rain. Last year, it received 21.32 inches, 14.82 inches below normal, making it the 13th-driest year on record and the worst since 2005.

It’s early, but through the first three days of 2015, DFW is 1.16 inches above normal. That does little to relieve the “exceptional drought” that the Fort Worth area is enduring, but it’s certainly a nice start.

“Any above-normal precipitation for this year is definitely a good thing,” said Jennifer Dunn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

The rain has left the area for now and will be replaced with two cold fronts, the first of which will arrive overnight, Dunn said.

While high temperatures hovered around 50 on Saturday, they will be in the 30s Sunday.

Students heading back to class Monday morning will need their heavy coats as temperatures are expected to dip into the low 20s.

Monday’s high should stretch into the low 40s, and Tuesday should see temperatures in the low 50s before the second Arctic blast arrives, dropping the “roller-coaster temperatures” into the 20s overnight Tuesday.

“It’s winter,” Dunn said. “These cold fronts are to be expected.”

Another chance of rain will come Friday and into the weekend, Dunn said, but with warmer weather.

This story was originally published January 3, 2015 at 3:11 PM with the headline "2015 off to a wet start in North Texas."