North Texas Dealing with Winter Blast

Update at 5:30pm:

Many drivers had to deal with very slick conditions as freezing drizzle fell Wednesday morning and afternoon ahead of a bigger freezing rain event Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

Medstar in Tarrant County reporting a 300% increase in accidents crews responded to Wednesday compared to Tuesday.

A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 6:00pm Thursday with anywhere from .10 to .25 of an inch of ice expected once the system moves out by Thursday afternoon and evening.

Anything that melts Thursday with temperatures barely above freezing will refreeze Thursday night. Friday’s forecast looks much better with sunny skies and temperatures in the 40s.

Original Story:

DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF) – Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Division of Emergency Management to increase the readiness of the State Emergency Operations Center ahead of wintry conditions expected to impact portions of Texas, with the greatest impacts Wednesday through the weekend.

Light snow is expected in the Panhandle and portions of West Texas into Thursday morning. Wintry mix is anticipated in some areas of North and Central Texas beginning Wednesday and lasting through Friday. Additionally, extremely cold wind chill is forecast nearly statewide on Wednesday and will continue through Saturday morning.

“The State of Texas is taking action to prepare our communities and equip first responders and local officials with necessary resources to respond and address severe winter weather in the coming days,” said Governor Abbott. “As we continue to monitor weather conditions, Texans are encouraged to heed the guidance of local officials and stay mindful of changing weather conditions to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.”

Texas Department of Transportation is pretreating major thoroughfares around the state in anticipation of hazardous road conditions. Texans are urged to use caution on roads that may become difficult to drive.

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department is readying vehicles with four-wheel drive and TPWD’s aviation teams are on standby, the Texas Military Department is rostering five winter weather packages, and the state’s Emergency Medical Task Force is preparing a winter weather package. Energy industry leaders are participating in regular calls hosted by TDEM.