![]() ![]() Single-digit wind chills are recorded in about 30% of winters in Houston. Icicles hang off the State Highway 195 sign on Feb. For information on winter weather and severe weather preparation, visit. Climate web story and National Climate Monthly Report. While not the most intense freeze in the state’s recorded history, the Great Texas Freeze caused a billion dollars’ worth of damages, state-wide blackouts, hundreds of fatalities, and enacted a massive emotional and financial toll on Texas residents.įor more details and graphs on February 2021’s winter events, visit NCEI’s Assessing the U.S. TPWD also stated that while much of the wildlife in inland Texas survived the freezing temperatures, the long-term impacts of the freeze on habitats and vegetation raised concerns for the survival of animals and the ecosystem. Rescue efforts by different agencies were carried out in an attempt to save as many sea turtles as possible. Sea turtles were cold stunned from the temperature drop, making them inactive and unable to navigate to warmer waters. Post-freeze surveys estimate that over 60 species were impacted, with fish stock requiring years of recovery. Wildlife and NatureĪccording to Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD), this winter blast caused no less than 3.8 million fish to perish along the Texas coast. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported the death toll at over 200 lives. Due to the impassable roads and state-wide blackout, there were also shortages at grocery stores. Cars slid off of freeways and streets resulting in accidents, including a pile-up of over 100 vehicles on I-35 West in Fort Worth, leaving several fatalities in its wake. The freeze also caused water pipes to burst and boil water advisories were issued in many counties.įreezing precipitation developed throughout the state on February 15, creating thin layers of imperceptible ice on roadways. At the peak of the outage, nearly 10 million people were in the dark, lacking warmth and the ability to cook food. Though power outages occurred throughout the South, they were mostly concentrated in Texas. The Great Freeze lasted 8 days, 23 hours, and 23 minutes, with the last Hard Freeze Warning expiring on Saturday, February 20th at 9 a.m. Constant precipitation that day led to the coldest night of the Great Freeze, though the warnings extended for the rest of the week. The warnings continued on Monday, February 15. The rest of the state was placed under a Winter Storm Warning, a Wind Chill Warning, and a Hard Freeze Warning. This day was the turning point where the front became a historic winter event. The Arctic cold front made its way to southeast Texas on February 14. Throughout central Texas, including Austin and Waco, six to nine consecutive days of freezing temperatures broke records for the longest freezing streak in the state’s recorded history. ![]() On Saturday, February 13, a Winter Storm Warning went into effect for Houston from that day to the following Tuesday. The first Winter Weather Advisory was issued on Thursday, February 11 in northwest Texas, where isolated freezing rain was occurring. The first day of the cold air outbreak occurred on February 10, with precipitation beginning on the following day as sleet and freezing rain fell across Texas’s northwestern counties. When the vortex weakens or is disrupted, the jet stream often becomes extremely wavy, allowing warm air to flood into the Arctic and polar air to sink down into the mid-latitudes.Ĭourtesy of NOAA, adapted from original by. When the polar vortex is strong and stable, the polar jet stream shifts northward, causing the cold air to remain in the Arctic. A polar vortex is an extensive coverage of low pressure and cold air surrounding Earth's poles. With a negative AO, a weaker jet can dip further south, enabling outbreaks of Arctic air into the mid-latitude regions.Īnother element at play in the cold air outbreak was the polar vortex. ![]() A strongly positive AO can influence the powerful mid-latitude jet stream to move storms northward, reducing cold air blasts in the mid-latitude regions. The AO influences weather and climate in North America, Europe, and Asia, making the most impact during the winter season. One notable factor was the strongly negative Arctic Oscillation (AO), a back-and-forth shifting of atmospheric pressure between the Arctic and the mid-latitudes of the north Pacific and north Atlantic. A multitude of factors contributed to the brutal and enduring cold that enveloped the entire state of Texas. ![]()
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