A vigorous upper level system moved over freezing air at the surface, producing rain which froze on contact as it struck trees, fences, and power lines. Around 48,000 people were temporarily without power.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS FWD wrote it up.
A vigorous upper level system moved over freezing air at the surface, producing rain which froze on contact as it struck trees, fences, and power lines. Around 48,000 people were temporarily without power. Record high temperatures the previous week helped significant icing from occurring on roadways. Only minor travel disruptions were reported over the northwestern half of north Texas.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Fort Worth, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 5, 7:23 AM CST, 37 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 723 AM CST MON JAN 5 2009 .UPDATE... WITH INITIAL WET-BULBING AND OTHER BRIGHT-BANDING WITH ISOLATED CONVECTION... SOME SLEET BEING REPORTED WITH RAIN/FREEZING RAIN. PER 12Z FWD SOUNDING WITH ELEVATED WARM LAYER ALREADY SATURATED...EXPECT SLEET OR EVEN LIGHT SNOW BE SHORT-LIVED AND FOR EVENT TO BE PRIMARILY RAIN/FREEZING RAIN/ ISOLATED THUNDER. WILL NOT ADJUST WSWFWD/ADVISORIES OR EXPAND THEM AT THIS POINT...THOUGH SPC MESO PAGE DOES MAKE ONE WONDER IF LOWER WET- BULB TEMPS SLIGHTLY FARTHER S-E OF ADVISORY WILL COME TO FRUITION. WILL LET FRESH SET OF EYES DETAIL THAT FOR LATER THIS MORNING. FOR NOW... JUST UPDATED TO BRING CATEGORICAL/LIKELY POPS IN FOR THE WHOLE DAY NOW... NOT JUST THIS AFTERNOON. UPDATES SENT. EXPECT PLENTY OF THEM TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING. 05/ && .AVIATION.. ...FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR METROPLEX TAF SITES UNTIL NOON... AN APPROACHING SYSTEM TO THE WEST WILL DRAW WARM MOIST AIR OVER THE COLD CANADIAN AIR SETTLING OVER NORTH TEXAS. PRECIPITATION IS ON THE INCREASE TO THE WEST AND SOUTHWEST AND WILL SPREAD OVER NORTH TEXAS TAF SITES BEFORE MID MORNING AND CONTINUING THROUGH THE NIGHT. FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO SLIDE DOWN INTO THE METROPLEX TAF SITES THIS MORNING THROUGH MIDDAY WITH A MIXTURE FREEZING RAIN AND RAIN. FUSELAGES...WINGS AND EXPOSED METAL SURFACES COULD COLLECT A LIGHT GLAZE OF ICE...BUT RUNWAYS SHOULD REMAIN WET. VFR CIGS AND VIS WILL LOWER AS SATURATION OCCURS LATER TODAY WITH IFR AND LIFR EXPECTED THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. 75 && .PREV UPDATE... .UPDATE... SOME BRIGHT-BANDING NOTED ON REGIONAL RADAR MOSAIC ALONG WITH INCREASING ELEVATED INSTABILITY. THIS HAS RESULTED IN A FEW LIGHTNING STRIKES PER THE NLDN/LIGHTNING NETWORK SOONER THAN EXPECTED. HAVE BROUGHT IN A MENTION OF ISOLATED/ELEVATED THUNDER SOONER AND TAD FURTHER NW THAN PREVIOUS FORECAST. THIS WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED VERY CLOSELY BY DAY CREW...AS ICING COULD BE WORSE IF EVENT BECOMES MORE CONVECTIVE THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. UPDATES SENT. 05/ && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 457 AM CST MON JAN 5 2009/ 334 AM CST. OUR WINTER WX EVENT APPEARS TO BE UNFOLDING...AS AREA RADARS INDICATING SOME ELEVATED ECHOES ACROSS NE COUNTIES WHERE SOME LIGHT SLEET MAY BE MIXING WITH THE RAIN SHOWERS...THOUGH THERE IS A LARGE WARM LAYER BETWEEN 900MB-700MB TO OVERCOME PER 00Z FWD SOUNDING FROM LAST EVENING. ARCTIC AIRMASS REMAINS IN PLACE BELOW 4 KFT...WITH OUR SYSTEM/CULPRIT FOR THE NASTY WEATHER NOW SWINGING EWD ACROSS SRN AZ/NM AND NRN OLD MEXICO. FREEZING LINE IS GENERALLY ALONG/NW OF A BRECKENRIDGE/CISCO...DECATUR /BRIDGEPORT...SHERMAN/BONHAM LINE. WITH SURFACE DEW PT TEMPS IN THE TEENS-LOWER 20S...WOULD EXPECT ANY RAIN FALLING THROUGH THE DRY LOW- MID LEVELS WILL START TO HAVE A WET-BULB AFFECT AND START COOLING TEMPS BY/SHORTLY AFTER DAYBREAK...WHILE DEW PTS LIKELY RISE INTO THE 20S MOST PLACES EXCEPT FAR NW COUNTIES. WITH THIS IN MIND...HAVE KEPT WITH A FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY PREVIOUSLY ISSUED THROUGH NOON... WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ADDING HAMILTON...ROCKWALL...HUNT...AND DELTA COUNTIES. PER HOURLY TEMPS...DID EXTEND AREAS ALONG AND NW OF A COMANCHE...GLEN ROSE...ALEDO...FLOWER MOUND...MCKINNEY/PRINCETON... COOPER LINE THROUGH 4 PM AS SOME WET-BULBING LINGERS INTO THE AFTERNOON ACROSS THESE AREAS KEEPING THEM THE COLDEST. FOR FULL DETAIL...SEE ADVISORY BELOW...OR READ FTWWSWFWD PRODUCTS THAT WILL BE ISSUED BY 4 AM/SHORTLY THEREAFTER. THE STRONG UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE THEN LIFTS NE ACROSS TX LATE TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY...BEFORE MOVING ENE AWAY INTO THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY BY TUES EVENING. THE CLOUDS/STEADY RAIN/AND ELEVATED THUNDER OVER SE HALF OF NORTH TEXAS TONIGHT INTO TUES MORNING SHOULD HELP RECOVER LOW LEVEL DEW POINTS AND SATURATE/WARM THE LOW LEVEL COLUMN ENOUGH TO KEEP PRECIPITATION IN THE FORM OF A COLD RAIN...THOUGH DAY CREW WILL WANT TO INVESTIGATE CLOSER. SOME DECENT RAINFALL AMOUNTS LOCALLY TO BETWEEN 1-2 INCHES MAY BE AVAILABLE ACROSS THE DROUGHT- STRICKEN AREAS OF SRN/SE NORTH TEXAS. OTHERWISE...RAINFALL TO END FROM WEST-EAST TUESDAY AS SYSTEM LIFTS ACROSS. HAVE GONE SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN GFSMOS HIGHS TUESDAY WITH SYSTEM MOVING OVERHEAD AND TEMPERED HIGHS DOWN A TAD. WARM-UP REALLY GETS GOING MID-LATE WEEK AS WLY...THEN SLY WINDS AND PLENTY OF SUNSHINE OCCUR THIS TIME FRAME. OUR NEXT COLD FRONT ARRIVES FRI NIGHT. GFS IS FASTER THAN HPC/ECMWF AND BRINGS COLD FRONT IN ON FRIDAY...BUT WE PREFER THE SLOWER TIMING PER ZONAL FLOW ALOFT OVERHEAD. THUS...WILL GO HIGHER ON TEMPS FRIDAY OVER COOLER GFSMOS VALUES. BRISK AND COOLER FOR NEXT WEEKEND. 05/ && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX 38 35 55 37 68 / 80 80 20 0 0 WACO, TX 39 38 59 37 69 / 100 100 30 5 0 PARIS, TX 35 34 49 36 63 / 70 80 40 10 0 DENTON, TX 35 35 55 32 67 / 70 70 10 0 0 MCKINNEY, TX 36 34 55 34 65 / 70 80 20 5 0 DALLAS, TX 39 37 56 38 66 / 80 80 20 5 0 TERRELL, TX 38 37 55 35 67 / 90 90 30 5 0 CORSICANA, TX 38 36 57 38 68 / 100 100 30 5 0 TEMPLE, TX 39 37 59 38 71 / 100 100 30 5 0 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY UNTIL NOON CST TODAY FOR TXZ105-118>120- 133-142-143. FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON FOR TXZ091>095-100>104-106-115>117-129>132-141. && 75/05
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH TEXAS NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX 408 AM CST MON JAN 5 2009 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-061100- ANDERSON-BELL-BOSQUE-COLLIN-COMANCHE-COOKE-CORYELL-DALLAS-DELTA- DENTON-EASTLAND-ELLIS-ERATH-FALLS-FANNIN-FREESTONE-GRAYSON-HAMILTON- HENDERSON-HILL-HOOD-HOPKINS-HUNT-JACK-JOHNSON-KAUFMAN-LAMAR-LAMPASAS- LEON-LIMESTONE-MCLENNAN-MILAM-MILLS-MONTAGUE-NAVARRO-PALO PINTO- PARKER-RAINS-ROBERTSON-ROCKWALL-SOMERVELL-STEPHENS-TARRANT-VAN ZANDT- WISE-YOUNG- 408 AM CST MON JAN 5 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. A FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THIS MORNING FOR AREAS ALONG AND NORTHWEST OF A GOLDTHWAITE...HAMILTON...CLEBURNE...QUINLAN... COOPER LINE...AND FROM NOON THROUGH 300 PM FOR AREAS ALONG AND NORTHWEST OF A COMANCHE...GLEN ROSE...DECATUR...COOPER LINE. A LIGHT ICING MAY OCCUR ON BRIDGES AND ELEVATED ROADWAYS. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON SOUTH OF A GOLDTHWAITE TO ATHENS LINE...AND OVERNIGHT GENERALLY SOUTHEAST OF A GOLDTHWAITE...FORT WORTH...BONHAM LINE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY MORNING GENERALLY SOUTHEAST OF A TEMPLE...CORSICANA...ATHENS LINE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUESTED FOR ICING REPORTS TODAY.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
A brief power outage which affected about 200 residents was reported near Copperas Cove when a frozen tree limb touched a power line. Three weather-related traffic accidents were reported in Killeen along Highway 190.
Several accidents were reported across the county due to light icing and wet road conditions, most of them occurring on I-20. One rollover accident occurred between Eastland and Ranger. No serious injuries were reported.
Icy conditions caused power outages in Ovilla.
Icing on trees caused power outages in Tolar, Acton, and Pecan Plantation as icy limbs fell on power lines.
Icy conditions caused power outages in Burleson.
Icy tree limbs fell on power lines, causing power outages in Waco.
Icy tree limbs fell on power lines, causing about 48,000 residents and businesses to experience power outages across the metroplex.
Icy tree limbs fell on power lines, causing about 48,000 residents and businesses to experience power outages across the metroplex.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, January 2009
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: 147033, 147034, 147035, 147036, 147037, 147038, 147039, 147040.