Bitter cold, wind chill send 23 people to Tarrant-area hospitals, MedStar reports
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Twenty-three people have been taken to area hospitals, two in serious condition, with cold-related illness since 9 a.m. Thursday, MedStar said Friday.
The emergency service, which serves Fort Worth and 14 other area cities, said it responded to 27 calls related to the cold.
Temperatures plunged from 45 degrees at 8 a.m. to 15 degrees by 4 p.m. The wind chill at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport was minus-5 degrees at 6:45 p.m.
The dangerous cold is expected to continue through Sunday morning, the National Weather Service forecast says. Temperatures were expected to drop to around 10 degrees overnight, with a wind chill as low as minus-8. Friday’s forecast high is near 24.
MedStar said Thursday morning that it was implementing its “Extreme Weather Response Protocol, meaning it would prioritize patients who were unprotected outdoors.
The state’s emergency management division and the Salvation Army have opened area warming centers, including at the Arlington Life Shelter, 325 W. Division St. in Arlington, and the Arlington Corps, 712 W. Abram St.
Snow flurries were reported in Fort Worth on Thursday morning as the cold front slowly moved eastward from Mineral Wells to Decatur, according to the weather service.
This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 7:11 PM.
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