Storm Troopers

Showers, then a rainbow in north Fort Worth

Yes, it's going to be hot and steamy later today, but a short-lived thunderstorm cooled things off in north Fort Worth and other parts of Tarrant County this morning.

Kids waiting at bus stops scrambled for cover between 8 and 8;30 a.m. as heavy rains drenched an area just north of Keller Central High School and a handful of car wrecks - have we already forgotten how to drive on slick roads? - were noticed on Beach Street and Western Center Boulevard.

A rainbow appeared briefly, a welcome change from the searing sun.
Sadly, high temperatures this afternoon are expected to reach 103 or 104, our 59th day of triple-digit  heat this year.

- Lee Williams

Storms in afternoon DFW forecast

Some rain and thunderstorms and even a possible tornado are expected in the Metroplex Wednesday, although the exact time and location is not certain.

The 40 percent chance of showers and storms is most likely to occur in the early afternoon through Wednesday night, but because of an abundance of clouds covering the area and a lack of a cold front, it is hard to pinpoint exactly when and where the storms will be, National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Mosier said.

The amount of moisture and unstable air have made conditions favorable for storms, Mosier said.

"All of the ingredients are there for storms to develop," Mosier said.

A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for Tarrant, Denton, Johnson and Parker counties until 6:00 p.m.

Some storms are expected to develop along a dry line in parts of Fort Worth, Weatherford and Mineral Wells that are north of Interstate 20 and west of Interstate 35 before they shift to the north and east, Mosier said.

There is also a possibility for damaging winds and large hail, Mosier said.

"Any thunderstorm that develops has a greater risk of becoming severe," Mosier said.

The expected size of the hail is hard to forecast but is expected to be as large as a quarter or half-dollar, Mosier said Tuesday.

Temperatures in the past few days have been higher than normal with Monday's high of 92 degrees being 10 to 11 degrees hotter than the average temperature, Mosier said.

With a large amount of clouds in the forecast, those temperatures are expected to cool through the week, Mosier said.

Thursday is predicted to have some clouds staying in the area until the afternoon when partly sunny skies are expected, Mosier said.

Saturday's forecast predicts mostly cloudy skies throughout the day with highs in the lower 80s, the NWS forecast shows. Lows Sunday morning should be in the upper 50s.

Saturday marks the return of rain to the area but with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, it's not likely, Mosier said.

"The rain chances for Saturday night through Sunday are not great," Mosier said.

Sunday's forecast going into next Monday is partly cloudy with highs in the lower 80s and lows around 60, according to the forecast.

This week's forecast heading into the weekend follows a "fairly common" pattern of Spring weather where storm systems move through the area and bring a little rain before moving off and returning a few days later, Mosier said.

PK subdivisions destroyed by fires

The Texas Forest Service has given a breakdwon of the destruction in Possum Kingdom subdivisions. In Sportsman’s World 56 homes were destroyed and at Gaines Bend 37 homes were lost. At Hog Bend, which is only accessible by boat, 24 homes were destroyed. The Forest Service is still assessing Hell’s Gate, The Peninsula and The Cliffs

- Bill Hanna

Fires continue to threaten Palo Pinto

There's a chance of rain today at Possum Kingdom Lake, which would bring much-needed support to firefighters, but the fires are currently still burning throughout the area and are threatening the town of Palo Pinto.

Dee Jackson, a communications specialist for the Palo Pinto Fire Department, didn’t leave with the rest of the town’s 400 residents when it was evacuated Tuesday night.

But this morning circumstances were dire enough that she was told to bug out.

“They’re evacuating our area,” Jackson said. “I don’t have the location where we’re going.”

The department’s auxiliary hall, next door to the station at 620 Oak St., was a drop-off point for donated materials needed by firefighters. Jackson said she hopes to continue taking donations wherever she ends up.

“The only ones who can stay here are firefighters and people who have emergency vehicles,” she said.

Lee Williams, Terry Evans

Keller schools update

Keller district spokeswoman Shellie Johnson said officials would decide at 5:30 a.m. Thursday whether classes would resume. The mid-year graduation for New Directions Learning Center--already rescheduled from last week--and all other Wednesday night events were canceled. No word on when they would be rescheduled.

Roads clear in Westlake

Jarrod Greenwood, public works superintendent for the Town of Westlake, said roads are clear in the area and Westlake Academy will return to regular schedule Thursday.  
 
-Susan McFarland

Burleson closes some city services

The city of Burleson closed its Senior Activity Center today because of a weather-related staff shortage, said spokeswoman Sally Ellertson.
Also, the Burleson Recreation Center (known locally as the BRiCk) and the public library both will close early at 6 p.m. today. And the greens of Hidden Creek Golf Course will remain covered until the freezing weather passes, likely Friday afternoon.
All other city facilities are holding to their regular hours of operation, Ellertson said.

Trash pickup called off in Fort Worth

Trash pileup has become as tiresome as snow and wind chill.

But it is what it has to be.

City officials called off garbage and recycling collection for the remainder of the day out of an overabundance of caution related to the hazards of driving on slick roads.

Only a portion of routes were serviced Wednesday. The remainder of Wednesday's pickup will be made Thursday and a modified schedule, which follows, will be in place the remainder of the week.

Normal collection day     New collection day

Wednesday                      Thursday

Thursday                          Friday

Friday                              Saturday

Normal collection schedules will resume Monday. All of this, of course, is dependent on road conditions improving Thursday.

The ice storm last week caused the cancellation of garbage collection for four days.

Officials also announced, though, that five library branches are open and Dewey Decimal systems fully operational (or something like that).

The Central, Shamblee, Riverside, Seminary and East Regional branches will be open to 6 p.m. today.

- John Henry

Loop 820, highway 121/183 dry

Fort Worth Star-Telegram aviation reporter Andrea Ahles just called in with an update on Northeast Tarrant County road conditions. Andrea just drove Northeast Loop 820 and Texas 121/183 Airport Freeway, and reports that all lanes are free of ice and dry as a horny toad's belly in a west Texas wash.

Ok, I'm paraphrasing a bit. Those weren't her exact words. But she did say all main lanes were completely dry and functional, and basking in the glow of a winter afternoon sunshine!!!

-- Gordon Dickson, gdickson@star-telegram.com

Keller Town Hall Open

Keller city offices are open today. City Manager Dan O'Leary said the roads are in good shape and were sanded this morning. But, if you have to get out, drive with extreme caution. -- Adrian McCandless

Southbound I-35 commute downtown

Highways are fine. Light whisps of snow blowing back and forth across I-35 but no sleet or ice. Highway was dry from Western Center to the downtown Fort Worth exit.

First ice I saw was on the 6th street cutoff heading into downtown, and it coated the street through town. That's where you need to be careful, and walking across intersections.

It was 17 degrees at 9:30 with a wind chill of 0 (Ouch!). It gets worse. Low tonight's supposed to be about 10 with a wind chill of -5, and it's not supposed to get above freezing tomorrow.

Bundle up if you have to drive anywhere, but don't worry too much about the main roads -- yet.

Stay warm, my friends,

-- Tom Uhler

Fort Worth roads not as bad as they seem, but be careful

I was not at all excited about getting on the streets today but thankfully, my drive was not so bad actually. Maybe it was all the dust that was still swirling around downtown yesterday. This morning white powder swept across the pavement with only a few slick-looking ice spots here and there. But mostly Interstate 30 from East Fort Worth to Jacksboro Highway was alright. Coming down West Seventh to University was a little more iffy but, again, not so bad. It could be easy for drivers to get a little over confident out there. Be careful guys. We're not used to this stuff.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Westlake closures and openings

Westlake town hall will open at 10 a.m. today. Westlake Academy is closed today. Emergency services are not affected. -Nancy Matocha

Trophy Club offices closed

Trophy Club municipal offices are closed today due to icy weather. — A. Lee Graham

Haslet city offices to open at 11

Haslet city offices will open at 11 a.m. today. The city reports that trash services are currently running as scheduled. -Nancy Matocha

Travel discouraged toward Austin

A freezing mist mixed with snow was now falling in Waco, making roads slick along Interstate 35. "We're starting to see a lot of accidents both on I-35 and secondary roads," said DPS trooper Charlie
Morgan. "It's gotten a lot worse in the last hour or two. I would advise anyone traveling south to postpone travel until later today or tomorrow."

-- Bill Hanna

Forest Hill City Hall Closed

Forest Hill city offices are closed today because of the icy road conditions.

Elizabeth Campbell

Snow lighter than expected west, north of Fort Worth

In Parker County, snowfall was lighter than anticipated. No traffic accidents were reported but officials were telling residents to stay home because of below-zero wind chills. In Wichita Falls, northwest
of Fort Worth, snow was also lighter than expected but travel was slow within the city of Wichita Falls, said DPS trooper Tony Fulton. "It's all snow. We didn't get any sleet but we're still discouraging people from getting out. It's very, very cold out there."  

Bill Hanna

MedStar ambulances take icy weather precautions

MedStar is once again suspending high-speed, lights-and-sirens responses to emergencies due to deteriorating road conditions.

"MedStar ambulance units will respond to calls at a speed that is safe for large vehicles on icy roads and will not use lights-and-sirens which can prove distracting to other drivers," the company said in a press release issued this morning. "Additionally, patient transports will be limited to medical facilities in the MedStar service area in order to reduce the amount of time the ambulance is traveling on dangerous streets."

During last week's storms, 911 calls to MedStar for wrecks were up as much as 86 percent above average. Calls for falling victims topped out at 198 percent above average, the release states.
"For safety, MedStar urges residents to stay off the roads and to use extreme caution when walking on slippery surfaces until conditions improve," the release states.

- Deanna Boyd

Johnson County coated in sleet

While Johnson County wasn't seeing as much precipitation as the Metroplex, there was enough sleet to be causing problems. "It's getting treacherous out there," said Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford.

"We're starting to see a lot of accidents."

Areas around Burleson and Joshua and Burleson were having more problems than southern portions of the county. But TXDOT's road conditions maps showed icy road conditions along I-35 almost to Austin.

Bill Hanna

Learning from our past mistakes

Apparently, many of us learned a lesson last week - either stay off the roads or drive extremely slow. Between midnight and 8 a.m. today, Fort Worth police had only received reports of 20 wrecks - eight of them classified as major, 11 as minor and one as a hit-and-run.

- Deanna Boyd

Wise County discourages travel

The Wise County Sheriff's Department was discouraging travel this morning with a mixture of snow and ice on roadways. With temperatures already down to 13 degrees, most drivers were heeding the warnings.

"We've had two accidents but most people appear to be staying home. It's so cold out there nobody needs to be out right now," a Wise County Sheriff's Department dispatcher said.

Fort Worth trash pickup

Despite my skepticism, I'm thrilled to report that trash deliveries are on-going this morning in Ryan Place despite the coat of ice on the roads. Don't forget you can place extra garbage bags outside the receptacle this week due to the lack of trash collections last week.

- Deanna Boyd

Colleyville offices open, senior center closed

Colleyville city offices be open at 8 a.m. this morning for a full day of operations, despite the light skim of ice followed by some snow. The city library also will follow its normal Wednesday hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Colleyville Senior Center, however, will be closed today. City officials say the center follows the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD's weather schedule. There are no classes today at GCISD and no school-related practices and activities.

City of Mansfield delays opening

City of Mansfield public buildings and facilities will delay opening until 10 a.m. today. Officials will continue to monitor the weather situation. Please tune into local media or visit the city website at www.mansfield-tx.gov for any changes to our status. Or call the City Information Line at 817-276-4263.

Mansfield schools closed

The Mansfield school district waited until 6 a.m., but decided to close schools for the fifth day this year after freezing rain began falling this morning.

Northwest schools closed

All Northwest schools and offices are closed today because of weather. Northwest school district students will make up two bad weather days on Monday, Feb. 21 and Friday, April 22. Officials have said they would request a waiver from the state for the other lost days and that if they are not granted a waiver, they will identify additional days for students to attend school. -Nancy Matocha

TCU closed Wednesday for weather

TCU announced a few minutes ago that it'll be closed Wednesday, because of the incoming storm.

- Scott Nishimura

Here comes the sun

Now we're talkin'.

Sun came out early today and melted away so much ice that you could see the lines on the highways and streets for a change. And no slipping and sliding. It was almost shortsleeve weather.

We're still looking at a low of 16 tonight, but it'll be sunny again tomorrow and the high will be in the upper 30s. Winds? 5-10 mph.

Put on a tobaggan, won't need a scarf, grab a coat, boots, you're good to go.

Sundance Square is happenin' Saturday and there's party'n to be had. I'm talkin' about Taste of the NFL at 6.

Get your Super Bowl on ...

 

Not something you see every day

So this isn't something you see everyday, especially in North Texas.

This was the scene from my backyard Friday afternoon.

These kids from my north Fort Worth neighborhood were having a blast, though it looked a little scary to me.

- Melody McDonald

 

 

 

Trash service rescheduled in Westlake

Westlake reports that due to inclement weather, Allied Waste will operate Friday’s and Tuesday’s missed residential pickups next week on their regularly scheduled days. All Wednesday residential routes will move to Saturday and run with normal Saturday routes. Commercial and industrial routes will run as scheduled and should be caught up by Saturday to the “best of Allied’s ability,” according to the town’s website. -Nancy Matocha

Reach 45 community service blitz is still on

Update: The community breakfast planned Saturday in Arlington as part of Reach 45: The Big Game Evangelism Project has been canceled because of the weather, but the community service blitz is still on.

 Volunteers should call the facility they plan to work at before they go there, said LaDora LaRegina, Reach 45 coordinator.

Organizers say that Sunday’s community watch party at the Levitt Pavilion in downtown Arlington is still on schedule.

-Patrick M. Walker

TWU closed through Sunday

Texas Wesleyan University reports that the school will be closed through Sunday, Feb. 6, due to inclement weather.

--Maricar Estrella

AAA Texas reports huge increase in assistance calls

AAA Texas reported an 80 percent increase in calls for emergency roadside assistance since the ice started falling Tuesday, “an extraordinary” jump in demand, said Dan Ronan, a spokesman for AAA in Irving. From Wednesday to Thursday, the organization fielded more than 10,000 calls in Texas.

Calls ranged from reports of vehicles sliding off roadways to dead car batteries to other breakdowns related to the cold, he said.

“Our folks have been swamped,” Ronan said. “It’s the back-to-back-to-back nature of it all. You’ve got several inches of snow in Dallas-Fort Worth and an ice storm that stretches all the way down to Houston and over into Hill Country.”

Road conditions are not only dangerous for drivers, but also roadside assistance workers and tow truck drivers, he said.

“Not only are they are out there doing their jobs in extreme cold, they have to worry about other vehicles sliding around,” Ronan said. “We haven’t had an event like this in years.”

--Alex Branch

Pipe burst in Haslet

The Haslet Fire Department reported one burst pipe on Ridge Country Road yesterday at about 3 p.m., according to Lt. Nick Brenz. The fire department had the water shut down. Other than that, “we’ve been pretty quiet,” Brenz said. The public works department sands city streets, “but if it’s a state highway, the state does it,” he said. -Nancy Matocha

Do not pass slow cars; do not collect insurance money

On my attempt to make it into work around 9 a.m. this morning, most cars along Highway 114 near the Texas Motor Speedway were traveling at a reasonable 10-20 mph considering the road conditions.

It seemed liked the path from FM 156 to Interstate 35W had not been touched by a de-icer in days, and during my trek there were two spun-out cars in front me on both sides of the highway.

So why in the world would two SUVs decide to pass this scene on a two-lane highway? You really needed to speed up to make it to the red light?

Please people, slow down out there. Just because the sun is now out, does NOT mean the ice is gone.

--Maricar Estrella

 

Update: Burleson Recreation Center will re-open Saturday

Burleson's recreation center will re-open Saturday after crews repaired a broken water pipe on the roof and cleaned the building.
Spokeswoman Sally Ellertson said Friday the opening could be delayed if the weather is bad. She also said that exercise classes scheduled for Saturday are cancelled.
The recreation center, which opened in June, flooded early Friday morning after a pipe burst on the roof. The fitness room on the second floor will be closed until crews can repair the damage, but the rest of the building is open, she said.

Northwest school district make-up days

Students in the Northwest school district should plan on attending school Friday, Feb. 21 and Monday, April 22, according to Northwest district spokeswoman Lesley Weaver. Those two days, originally planned as student holidays and staff development days, will help students make up lost time due to this week's weather. As for the other two lost days, Weaver said she is not certain but it's possible the district may request a waiver from the state. -Nancy Matocha

Southlake meeting canceled, UNT closed Saturday

Southlake has canceled tonight's City Council meeting. City offices have been closed today, and drivers are asked to stay off the roads, according to mysouthlakenews.com posting.

Other cancellations/postponements:

University of North Texas: Closed Friday and Saturday.

AdventureAsia: Family Days at the Crow in Dallas: This popular event has been rescheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 12.

-- Maricar Estrella

Roof collapse in Johnson County

The Johnson County Sheriff's Department reported that the roof of a two-story home near Crowley collapsed late thursday afternoon when a water main on the roof broke. Deputies reported heavy damage to the house, but residents were not home at the time.        

Elizabeth Campbell

Fort Worth City Hall calls it a day

A city spokesman said City Hall and all nonessential city officials will be closed for the remainder of the day.

Sold waste dropoff stations will remain open Friday and Saturday.

Emergency operations are fully functional, said Bill Begley, who added that community centers are available for shelter.

Officials on Thursday cancelled garbage pickup for the rest of the week. Regularly scheduled garbage and recyling pickup will resume on Monday. Extra bags will be permitted free of charge.

No yard waste will be collected next week so that those trucks can be diverted to garbage collection.

- John Henry

Trophy Club, Roanoke report broken indoor sprinkler heads

In Trophy Club, a broken indoor sprinkler head damaged several cameras at Byron Nelson High school's fine arts wing.
"It looked like the sprinkler head burst," said Fire Chief Danny Thomas, whose department responded to the 6:15 a.m. Friday call at the school, 2775 Bobcat Blvd. Firefighters shut off the water and had the problem under control within an hour, Thomas said.
Water damaged several cameras in an upstairs room, but a specific damage estimate could not be determined.
"They looked like pretty high-dollar cameras," Thomas said.
No structural damage occurred in the incident, Thomas said. Several rooms in the school were not heated, Thomas added, though a specific cause for the incident remained unknown late Friday morning. The campus was closed with no one on the premises when the fire department responded to the alarm.
"There are numerous reasons why it might have busted," said Thomas, who recalled no similar incidents ever occurring at the school.
Meanwhile, driving in Trophy Club proved treacherous as snow fell on Friday morning, though no major traffic accidents were reported by noon.

"We've had sanding crews on duty since Tuesday," Thomas said. "We're hitting the hot spots as much as we can." Those include portions of Indian Creek and Trophy Club drives.
Motorists weren't the only ones facing potential danger.
"We got a couple falls from the ice," Thomas said. One of those falls involved a town firefighter. He was treated and released from a nearby hospital, said Thomas, who declined to identify the firefighter.
Roanoke fire officials reported no weather-related injuries, but described several indoor sprinkler problems.
"The only problems we've seen are with burst sprinkler heads," said Roger Stewart, Roanoke fire marshal. "Some of them maybe aren't insulated correctly. Power outages may have knocked out the heating and systems freeze."

— A. Lee Graham

Burleson Recreation Center shut down Until Further Notice

 Burleson's newly opened recreation center flooded early Friday morning after a water pipe on the roof burst, sending water cascading throughout the building, spokeswoman Sally Ellertson said in a press release. Members will get refunds, she said.

Elizabeth Campbell

    

TRE, buses running but behind schedule

 The Trinity Railway Express and T buses were running Friday morning, but with delays, said Joan Hunter, a spokeswoman for the Fort Worth Transportation Authority.

Buses were running 30 to 60 minutes behind schedule and may have to skip stops on roads considered impassable because of snow and ice, she said.

Molly the Trolley was still shuttling visitors between downtown Fort Worth, the Stockyards and the Cultural District, but the intervals between stops were longer than usual, she said.

The TRE was running 20 and 30 minutes behind schedule, she said.

-Alex Branch

"Putting sand on top of snow doesn't do you a bit of good."

Since the winter storm hit, Arlington street crews have taken turns in 12-hour shifts trying to rid city streets of ice, or at least put down enough material to give motorists some traction, said Keith Melton, assistant public works and transportation director. But there’s not much the 80 city employees can do while the snow falls, he said Friday.
“Putting sand on top of snow doesn’t do you a bit of good,” said Melton, adding that snow on the already icy streets can be a good thing from a traction standpoint.
“Here in Texas, snow scares the heck out of people. Just drive careful. Snow isn’t bad at all,” Melton said.
The real problems are expected Friday night, after the compacted snow melts some and then refreezes on the street surfaces, Melton said.
“When it gets really cold again, we are going to have really bad conditions,” Melton said. “Then we will be out sanding all of the bridges and overpasses.”
While the Texas Department of Transportation works to clean ice off highways leading to Cowboys Stadium, the city takes care of overpasses and main city roads leading to those highways.
Arlington has four trucks with sanders, which are used to spread a brown pellet substance known as chat. The city also has four snowplows that can be outfitted on large trucks, but the plows are better for removing fluffy snow than hard-packed ice, Melton said.
- Susan Schrock and Gordon Dickson

Mansfield city offices closed today

Official word from City Hall:

Mansfield city offices are closed Friday due to the winter weather.

City management and public safety personnel have been evaluating current road conditions in an effort to determine our operational status for Friday. Police officers worked numerous major accidents on Thursday. Despite a slight improvement in road conditions over the last couple of days there are still hazardous conditions on Mansfield streets, and the city saw significant snowfall overnight.

There are many city personnel who are still unable to get to Mansfield due to road and weather conditions in other areas of the region. Because of what will be short staffing at City Hall and other facilities, we will continue to be closed to the public on Friday. Essential services will continue to operate, which includes personnel in police, fire, public works, building maintenance, water, streets and the law enforcement center.

Water bill payments and court fines will be accepted once city buildings are open again. No late fees or cutoffs will be assessed during this time. There will be no garbage/recycling collection today (Feb. 4).
Service will resume for residents on their next scheduled collection day.

Worker gets to Hurst, only to find to find office will be closed

In Hurst, city employees were not required to come in until 10 a.m., but Diana Sears, senior records clerk for the police department, was there at 7 a.m., same as always.

“I didn’t get the message until I was already here,” she said, laughing.

She said there have been three reports of accidents since she arrived and all occurred on residential streets. She said they aren’t receiving more calls than usual and assumes people are staying home.
Saginaw, likewise, hadn’t had any major accidents reported.

“Just the normal slipping and sliding, just like any other bad day,” said dispatcher Greg Gomez. “Most people are just calling in to check on the roads and how safe they are to travel. our offices are telling them to use caution if they have to leave, but it’s better to just stay inside.”

-- Melody McDonald

Arlington Municipal Airport open

Though the snow is steadily falling, the Arlington Municipal Airport is open. Crews worked overnight to keep the runway clear and Friday morning a large corporate jet landed safely. Airport Manager Bob Porter said he expects more Super Bowl fans to begin arriving Friday afternoon.
“I anticipate traffic will be light for the next few hours until weather improves a bit,” Porter said at about 10 a.m. “We are ready for them when they arrive.” - Susan Schrock

Haslet city offices closed Friday

Haslet city offices closed again Friday after opening Thursday at 10 a.m. Offices were expected to open again Monday at 8 a.m., according to the city website. In an e-mail Wednesday, Mayor Bob Golden said, "Our Public Works Department has a skeleton crew available 24/7 and they are keeping a keen eye on roadway conditions and adding sand where appropriate." As of now, the city council is still expected to meet Monday as previously scheduled. -Nancy Matocha

Keller city offices close; no trash pickup

All city offices are closed again today in Keller and there will be no trash pickup, either, said Dan O’Leary Keller city manager.

Trash collection is already four days behind, and the trash collection company will make an attempt to resume trash pickups tomorrow, O’Leary said.

“We expect numerous pipe ruptures after things thaw out,” he said.

“We have decided locally, that plumbers will not have to get a city permit for the next three weeks,”

O'Leary said. O'Leary said that suspending that procedure will speed things up.“They just need to call us and let us know where they are working.”

For news about Keller, visit the Keller Citizen's website.

-- Susan McFarland