Heavy Snow, Dallas
- When
- February 1, 8:00 AM CST to February 2, 12:00 PM CST
- Where
- Dallas forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 32.767, -96.778 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Texas, February 1 to 2, 1996
A cold arctic air mass that spread into North Texas on the 1st was overriden by warm, moist air as a strong upper level disturbance approached from New Mexico. Rain, freezing rain and sleet developed over the area.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS FWD wrote it up.
A cold arctic air mass that spread into North Texas on the 1st was overriden by warm, moist air as a strong upper level disturbance approached from New Mexico. Rain, freezing rain and sleet developed over the area. As the cold air deepened, all the precipitation turned to snow. By midday on the 2nd, the entire North Texas area had received a coating of ice and much of the region additionally received 1 to 3 inches of snow. Thousands of automobile accidents resulted in numerous indirect injuries and several indirect deaths. The unusual winter weather continued on the 3rd through the 5th as temperatures fell to record levels across the region on the 3rd and 4th. At 1000 am on the 5th, the temperature at the DFW airport climbed to 35 degrees, the first time above freezing temperatures were observed in 136 consecutive hours (this was the second longest sub-freezing period in history).
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Wisconsin, February 1 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Mississippi, February 1 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Wyoming, February 1 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Wisconsin, February 1 to 5, 1996
- Cold in Michigan, February 1 to 6, 1996
- Cold in Wisconsin, February 1 to 4, 1996
- Cold in Montana, February 1, 1996
- Ice Storm in Mississippi, February 1 to 2, 1996
- Cold in Ohio, February 1 to 5, 1996
- Winter Storm in Texas, February 1 to 2, 1996
- Winter Storm in Alabama, February 1 to 3, 1996
- Winter Storm in Mississippi, February 1 to 3, 1996
More
Every storm in Texas in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, February 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5536633.