Tuesday’s rainfall was a new record for DFW, and a big freeze is coming

Tuesday morning’s commute was a nasty mix of steady rain, soupy fog and endless brake lights.

The rush-hour sequel, minus the heavy rain, followed.

Storms moved into North Texas early Tuesday and really picked up as coffee was brewing. Numerous accidents were reported across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but no major flooding occurred.

The rain stopped briefly midmorning but returned Tuesday afternoon and evening, littering roadways with annoying puddles.

By 5:30 p.m. it had rained a record 2.79 inches at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, breaking the old mark of 1.56 inches in 1911.

The rain chances will diminish to 20 percent overnight and temperatures will warm up to near 65 on Wednesday, before a cold front arrives Thursday night.

There’s another chance of rain on Friday and freezing temperatures should arrive late Saturday and stay through early next week, with a low of 25 Christmas morning.

But that chance for a White Christmas? It’s probably not going to happen in the DFW area, said Jason Godwin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth.

“We’re not really expecting anything ... but there’s a slight chance near the Red River,” he said.

New snowfall record

Also on Tuesday, a significant National Weather Service record was corrected — 88 years later.

During a 24-hour period on Dec. 20-21, 1929, it snowed 26 inches in Hillsboro, about 60 miles south of Fort Worth. That amount replaces the previously reported record of 25 inches that fell in Follett in March 2009, according to a news release.

The storm that dumped the snow on the Hillsboro area also dropped 25 inches in Clifton and 13 inches in Waco, where the low temperature was 2 degrees.

The snow storm mostly missed the DFW area, which only received a trace of snow.

The record was confirmed by the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service, an affiliate of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to the news release.

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Tuesday’s rainfall was a new record for DFW, and a big freeze is coming."