The first month of 2026 was mild and very dry…until it wasn’t. Grizzled veterans of North Texas weather know that we’ve never gone through an entire winter without some frozen precipitation. On average, we have three “snow days” each winter. This year is no exception.
The New Year started out warm and dry. While a chilling rain fell on the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Denton County enjoyed perfect “barbecue weather” with a high of 71 on the first day of the year.
Most of the rest of January was dry and warmer than normal. Highs ranged from 65 to 80 through the first week of the year, cooling off to the 50’s and 60’s during the second and third weeks of January. The fourth week proved the adage that DFW always gets “some” winter weather every year.
After scattered thunderstorms dropped nearly half an inch (.46”) of rain on Jan. 23rd, an intense Arctic cold front moved in. From highs in the 50’s, we dropped to a high of just 21 degrees on Jan. 23rd with an overnight low of 13. DFW picked up .86” of precipitation over the 23rd and 24th with much of it falling as sleet, topped with a thin layer of snow. Many homes and businesses suffered frozen pipes, plumbing leaks and water damage, while parents were going crazy with kids out of school all week.
Severe winter weather is as dangerous as tornadoes in the spring. Three young brothers outside Bonham drowned in a frozen pond. Two teenage girls perished in a sledding accident in Frisco while being towed by a 16-year-old boy in a jeep. Another teen died in Ponder after crashing out in a kayak being towed across the snow. Unimaginable heartache. We in North Texas underestimate the dangers of winter weather.
A rare freezing fog outbreak crippled DFW Airport ground traffic on the 28th. Freezing fog occurs when snow-cover evaporates into a layer of cold and very “clean” air, leaving atmospheric moisture nothing, such as microscopic dust or salt crystals, to condense on. In such cases, atmospheric moisture can remain in a vaporized state at temperatures well below the freezing point (32 degrees) of water. Without a condensation-nuclei, the super-cooled water vapor freezes instantly on contact with any surface it touches, in our case, the freeways. Denton was 19 degrees that morning when freezing fog pasted North Texas freeways with a continual coating of thin ice until after sunrise, paralyzing traffic. The last of the snow and sleet finally melted off by the end of the month.
Mid-range forecasts from the Climate Prediction Center hint at another strong cold front approaching North Texas around Valentine’s Day. Let’s be better this time.
