Northwest parts of North Texas could see several inches of snow on Thursday
FORT WORTH, Texas - Some parts of North Texas could see several inches of snow on Thursday.
Temperatures in the big counties are expected to stay slightly above freezing, with Dallas and Tarrant counties likely to see only a rain-snow mix.
Dallas County could experience some rain-snow mix, but it’s not expected to accumulate.
Northwestern counties could be dealing with accumulating snowfall on Thursday. Officials are warning that travel could be treacherous in spots.
Northwest of Denton, there is a Winter Storm Warning for Montague, Jack and Wise counties. They're preparing for between two and four inches of snow.
In downtown Bowie on Wednesday, there are signs the first blast of winter weather has come and gone.
“The thin layer of ice was enough to cover Michael Hilt's car.
“Yeah, it was frozen,” he said. “Doors were frozen solid shut.”
But it wasn’t enough to cause many issues on area roads. Although, that will likely change soon when the second blast of winter weather moves in on Thursday.
Bowie Assistant Fire Chief Joel Moore says if they get the upper end of the two to four-inch forecast, it will make travel tough.
“It's probably going to shut everybody, lock everybody in,” Moore said. “Four inches on the road. We live in North Texas. We don't drive on it all the time.”
The Bowie Fire Department will be ready to respond, regardless. They’re equipping some of the vehicles with chains for added traction. If needed, they'll go to great lengths to get to people who call for help.
“If we can't get there, we're going to find a way to get to you — even if we have to call in someone with an airboat,” Moore said.
TxDOT crews have been treating roads in the area for days now and remain on the road checking conditions.
First responders say if you have to head out and travel in the snow on Thursday to bring a blanket, food and make sure your phone is charged so you can call for help in case you get stuck.
There were some power outages on Wednesday that made it tough for folks to stay warm. The ice apparently weighed down some trees that snapped and hit some power lines.
There are about 1,000 homes and businesses in Dallas and Tarrant counties without electricity. That number was much higher earlier on Wednesday.
Shelly Watson works from home. The longtime Burleson resident was in her kitchen when the electricity suddenly went out.
“I heard the tree falling and hitting the house,” she recalled. “Later, I heard a big boom. It was the transformer blowing a switch or something.”
Watson knew the bad weather was to blame. Ice that had formed on her cedar tree from the relentless rain caused a limb to break off, cutting the power for hours.
“Fortunately, we have a nice warm fireplace,” she said. “And I sat in front of the fireplace with my phone and my animals and stayed cozy warm.”
The wet, winter weather caused numerous outages. At one point, Oncor's power outage map showed nearly 7,000 Tarrant County homes and businesses without power. As temperatures slowly crept above freezing, ice began to melt off the power lines.
Still, some North Texans will go to sleep with the power still out. Watson is grateful she’s not one of them.
According to Oncor's power map repairs, some areas could take up until 3 a.m. until power is restored. Some affected residents say the power has come back on much sooner than expected.
With temperatures just below freezing on Wednesday morning, there were lots of icy spots on highway bridges. Police shut down five interchanges in Fort Worth this morning after several accidents on icy overpasses. The highways later reopened.
Before drivers in Fort Worth even got on the road Wednesday, icy conditions already caused delays.
“Got up this morning, truck was iced over,” said tow truck driver Tommy Hankins.
Many people in the area said they spent several minutes defrosting their vehicles.
“When I got out of the house this morning my windows were all frozen,” said Daniel Razo. “Took a long time for them to unfreeze.”
Wet and slick conditions made for a treacherous morning commute as accidents, including a jackknifed truck at I-35W and Loop 820, piled up and shut down several ramps and overpasses.
“I was driving on the road and two four-wheelers almost hit each other. He was merging and he didn’t see him,” said Tyris Hart.
Sebastian Carrasco and his family were trying to make it from Oklahoma City to Amarillo -- slowly but safely.
“Probably instead of seven hours, it’s gonna take like nine hours,” Carrasco said.
Tow truck driver Hankins, who works for Milner Wrecker Service, is ready to work late into the evening with potential road conditions.
“It ices over tonight, I probably won’t sleep,” Hankins said. “It may be pretty good business but it’s pretty dangerous as well. A lot of people don’t slow down, move over for us as it is when it’s dry, but you throw the wet and the ice out there, we’re sitting ducks.
Others, like Misty Hollenbeck, decided driving wasn't worth the risk and worked from home.
“It was just better to say, hey just stay in, be safe until we have it figured out,” Hollenbeck said.
Brine trucks stayed on the rural roads in Parker County to hold down ice accumulations. Sanding trucks keep patrolling bridges and overpasses to keep them safe.
The ice built up on mostly elevated surfaces and signs. The trick for drivers was judging when roads were just wet or had mixed with ice. Either way, the roads were still slick.
The weather caused disruptions at DFW Airport, with 300 flights delayed Wednesday and 62 canceled.
Airlines activated de-icing operations to keep as many flights on schedule as possible. Operations were running close to a normal schedule Wednesday evening.
For the full forecast, visit fox4news.com/weather, download the WAPP for your cell phone or tablet or check out FOX 4 Weather on Facebook. You can also get the latest traffic updates from Chip Waggoner on Twitter.