Damp New Year’s Eve in store for DFW, with late wintry mix possible, forecast shows
It’s looking like it will be a damp new year in Dallas-Fort Worth, with long stretches of rain and a possibility of some snowflakes in the final hours of 2020, according to the National Weather Service.
Tropical moisture in the air will give way to rain starting early in the day on Wednesday, and later a system will develop high in the atmosphere creating strong winds to accompany the showers, meteorologist Sarah Barnes said over the phone. There’s a strong chance of rain from the morning on Wednesday into the afternoon, Barnes said, which is when water could collect and lead to flooding.
A hazardous weather outlook from the weather service notes wind gusts and isolated tornadoes could pose a threat. The threat for gusty winds and tornadoes is further south of DFW, closer to Waco and Palestine, Barnes said.
Thursday is expected to be be another day of rain, beginning again in the morning and continuing throughout the afternoon. Rain is still likely into the night, according to the weather service forecast, and some of the rain could begin to mix with snow sometime after 9 p.m.
It’s “not totally out of the question” for DFW residents to see snow, or ice pellets or freezing rain, mix in with rain late on Thursday night, Barnes said. But the weather service believes areas west of the region will see greater impacts from the wintry precipitation.
“We are expecting quite a bit of rain over the next few days, through Thursday night,” she said. “So just watching those roadways will really be the main concern.”
She noted rural areas and creeks can flood as well as more urban areas, where rain can run off of concrete and collect in the road. People, she said, should be exceedingly cautious around flooded roads.
If there’s any measurable snow on Thursday night, it would be the first official snow of 2020, according to the weather service.
With the cold front moving into the region on Wednesday, the temperature is expected to drop to around 41 degrees by 5 p.m., the forecast shows. It’s expected to be cooler again on Thursday, with a forecast high of around 42.
It’s expected to be sunny on New Year’s Day and reach around 48.
This story was originally published December 29, 2020 at 5:16 PM.
