NWS warns of below-zero wind chill with snow to hit Gainesville

Megan Gray Hatfield Register Staff Writer, Gainesville Daily Register, Texas
·2 min read

Feb. 14—A blast of icy air similar to what Queen Elsa cast over Arendelle could soon hit North Texas.

Beginning early Sunday morning, Feb. 14, wintry precipitation making its way from Central Texas will start to hit the North Texas region, according to Allison Prater, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

Prater said the wintry precipitation for the Cooke County area will probably begin as light snowfall and gradually get heavier throughout the day. All snowfall, she said, should end Monday afternoon, Feb. 15.

Cooke County residents could see six to seven inches of snow, according to Prater, while adding "that could change."

Road conditions will not be great beginning Sunday morning, and Prater said the NWS is discouraging traveling on roadways Sunday and Monday as the area remains under a winter storm warning until 6 p.m. Monday.

The warning advises people to stay indoors. It also states that winds could be 20-30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph, prompting low visibility with blowing snow.

Sunday's high and lows temperatures are forecast to be in the mid-teens for the Gainesville area, she said.

"It'll be quite cold," Prater said.

On Monday, the low will be close to zero and the high could climb into the low teens, she said.

"That doesn't include wind chills," Prater said of the possible record-breaking frigid weather. "Sunday into Tuesday [Feb. 16 3/8 wind chills will be in the negatives."

And, this is just the first round of potentially bad weather in the forecast. A second round could make its way to the area with a possibility of "significant" snowfall Tuesday evening into Wednesday, according to Prater. However, she said that weather event is still a bit too far off to accurately predict as of Saturday evening, Feb. 13.