Melting snow, freezing temps lead to ‘cobblestone ice’ on some Dallas-Fort Worth roads
Though the wintry precipitation has passed Dallas-Fort Worth and a return to warmth is expected by the weekend, the National Weather Service is cautioning icy and possibly bumpy roads will persist in the days ahead — and could get worse.
The snow and ice that accumulated on streets and highways began to melt in some areas on Wednesday, as the sun peeked out and temperatures rose to around 27 degrees. Overnight, when temperatures dropped to around 18, some water covering DFW roadways refroze and created icy and bumpy patches, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.
Monique Fellers, a meteorologist with the weather service, said she noticed this phenomenon on Thursday morning as she was driving into work. Many roads, especially busier ones with precipitation that has turned to slush, had some noticeable re-freezing, Fellers said.
In Fort Worth, some streets, like Eighth Avenue, had bumpy patches of ice known as “cobblestone ice” on Thursday.
The problem could get worse Friday, Fellers said, “because we’ve got some really cold temperatures expected across the region tonight.”
Temperatures Thursday were expected to reach around 30 before falling to 11 at night, with wind chill values between 0 and 5, according to the weather service forecast. The high on Friday, then, is expected to be around 37, and the nighttime low will be around 21, the forecast shows. That means refreezing could happen again.
The weather service is avoiding describing this occurrence as “cobblestone ice,” a term used during the 2013 ice storms in Texas to refer to large and bumpy ice spots in the road, Fellers said. The agency doesn’t want to make comparisons to other storms.
But she noted that sort of refreezing could happen on roads in the coming days with lots of accumulated precipitation and shifting temperatures. People should avoid driving, Fellers said, and practice extreme caution if they have to.
“The other thing is, because we are going to start to see the ice and the snow melting, especially on those elevated spaces, any sort of falling ice can become hazardous,” Fellers said. “Anywhere where you do have ice and snow above your head, be careful because that stuff may start to fall.”
MedStar had 493 responses on Wednesday, an average of 21 per hour, spokesman Matt Zavadsky said in an email. There were 13 crashes and 40 falls.
As of around noon Thursday, MedStar had responded to only one crash but 18 falls, with four of them outside, Zavadsky said.
People should look out for ice as they drive and walk, Zavadsky said, because “daytime melt leads to overnight freeze.” There could be more falls in the coming days “as people venture out and slip and crash on ice,” he said.
The weather service has issued a hard freeze warning from 9 p.m. Thursday to 9 a.m. Friday, with possible impacts including damage to exposed pipes and water main breaks.
DFW residents can expect to see a break from the frigid temperatures on Saturday, when the high is expected to be around 45 and the nighttime low is expected to be around 35. Temperatures are then expected to reach around 57 on Sunday, before a minor cold front moves into the region in the evening. Nighttime temperatures could fall to around 31.
That could slow the warming trend and the melting process, Fellers said. She warned there has been enough snow and ice packed into DFW roadways that it could take a long time for all of it to melt.
Warmer southern air should move into the region by early next week. The forecast highs are 60 on Monday, 67 Tuesday and 69 Wednesday.
This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 12:42 PM.
