Arctic blast leaves historic Texas town with dusting of snow; winter wonderland on a holiday
Granbury woke up Monday morning to a thin dusting of snow as Arctic air blasted south into North and Central Texas.
Temperatures in the early morning dipped into the low teens with the National Weather forecasts saying the region will not see daytime highs above freezing until mid-day Wednesday.
Wintry slush may be the least of the region’s worries. It will experience sub-freezing temperatures for three straight days and nights — beginning overnight Sunday through mid-day Wednesday.
“Tuesday night will be the coldest night, with low temperatures bottoming out between 5 and 15 degrees across the region,” NWS forecasters say. “Wind chills as low as -5 to -15 are expected, with the coldest conditions along the Red River.”
The NWS recorded 1.5 inches of snow at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport over Sunday night and Monday. Of the snow totals, 0.4 inches was recorded Sunday night before midnight and the remaining 1.1 inches came over Monday.
While the snow flurries are mostly over, the region can expect the accumulated snow to stay on the ground as temperatures continue to stay below freezing until Wednesday afternoon.
Traffic was light around the historic Granbury Square with Monday being a federal holiday — Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Hardy commuters made their way to highways around town. A jogger with a headlamp slowly made his way up Pearl Street.
Granbury City Beach was empty except for a gaggle of geese huddling in the shallows just off the snow-crusted shoreline. The light dusting of snow may be because of what the NWS calls “lake effect snow.”
“Water temperatures across most North Texas lakes are still in the 40s. Cold air moving over the warmer water results in lake-induced buoyancy. When the winds are at the appropriate direction and speed (winds can`t be too strong or too light and must have a long enough fetch over the water) the buoyancy allows for lake enhanced clouds and eventually lake effect precipitation,” an NWS forecaster explained.
This story was originally published January 15, 2024 at 11:13 AM.