star-telegram.com | Jan 6, 2010
By BILL MILLER
When National Weather Service officials said Tuesday that air “of a Siberian origin” would smack North Texas this week, they meant exactly that.
They started watching the cold air system more than a week ago as it developed over Russia, then tracked it as it dashed over the North Pole, Canada, and then plunged into the Great Plains of the United States.
“We kind of noticed it a week to 10 days ago,” said Dan Shoemaker, a weather service meteorologist in Fort Worth. “We have polar projections, and you could see that stuff over in Siberia.
“(Computer) models said it would be coming our way, but that many days out, you can’t trust them. It has definitely modified since then.
“Now it’s more than probable.”
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The air mass, driven by fierce winds, is expected to send temperatures into the teens at night and to hold daytime temperatures in the 20s for almost 2? days, through Saturday afternoon.
The last time such an extended hard freeze occurred in Fort Worth was Dec. 8-9, 2005, the weather service said.
Complicating the situation is a 40 percent chance of a wintry mix of snow and rain arriving overnight, and brisk winds that could drive the wind-chill values to zero or below.
Thursday morning’s commute could be slippery for a couple hours on small, isolated patches — like on bridges or elevated surfaces.
“We’ll still be above freezing at midnight, but then we’ll see freezing drizzle coming out of the fog,” Shoemaker said. “Early morning commuters may encounter some slick spots (but) the moisture is going to get scoured out so fast, there will only be a small window of that in the early-morning hours, before sunup.
“Still, caution is urged any time it’s freezing around here.”
The weather service reported Wednesday that the wind-chill values Friday morning will be at or below zero north of a line stretching from Stephenville, through Fort Worth, northern Dallas County, and northeast from there to the Red River.
Government and nonprofit officials continued efforts Wednesday to be ready for midnight, which was the estimated arrival time for the arctic onslaught.
Red Cross chapters in Tarrant and Dallas counties put volunteers on standby and loaded trucks with blankets, cots and other supplies.
“We haven’t mobilized yet,” said Alison Venhuizen, spokeswoman for the Chisholm Trail Chapter of the Red Cross in Fort Worth. “But we’ve got all the materials needed to set up a shelter.
“We have branch offices in Abilene and San Angelo, as well as Parker County and Johnson County. We’ve been working with emergency managers in each city.”
No sleeping outdoors
Several area homeless shelters, including Tarrant County’s largest, are already at capacity, even before the extreme cold drives more people inside.
“We pretty much have people sleeping on the floor and underneath tables,” said Becky Orander, executive director of the Arlington Life Shelter.
Arlington’s lack of public transportation makes it hard for homeless people to get to another shelter when one is full, said Orander, who said the shelter is already about 15 people over its capacity of 85. Shelter volunteers are willing to drive them to shelters in Fort Worth if there is room there.
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