February 9th, 2021 was the beginning of what would become a historic winter weather event across the state of Texas, with multiple rounds of winter precipitation and deadly cold temperatures. The prolonged event began with freezing drizzle that contributed to several vehicle accidents in the region.
Every event with a place to put it; 15 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.
February 9th, 2021 was the beginning of what would become a historic winter weather event across the state of Texas, with multiple rounds of winter precipitation and deadly cold temperatures. The prolonged event began with freezing drizzle that contributed to several vehicle accidents in the region. Most notable of the accidents, a 133 vehicle pileup occurred within the express lanes of I-35W in Fort Worth, due to icy roads. The incident resulted in 6 fatalities and over 100 injuries. A few other fatal accidents were also reported due to the icy roads. The first significant wave of winter precipitation occurred on February 11th-12th with freezing rain and sleet falling across most of the area along and east of a line from Goldthwaite to Fort Worth to Sherman. Across Central Texas, up to half an inch of ice and sleet was measured in several counties. A few other fatal accidents were reported on icy roadways, bringing this first event total to 13 weather related deaths. Damage estimates from this event are still ongoing and were largely consolidated by each jurisdiction for the entire winter event. Therefore, total damage estimates as of this publication have been included in the February 13th-19th Episode for each county where available.
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 Feb 9, 5:29 AM CST, 31 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 529 AM CST Tue Feb 9 2021 ...New Short Term, Aviation... .SHORT TERM... /NEW/ Update: The cold front has nearly cleared the entire CWA to the southeast as of 5am. The entire region has become engulfed in post-frontal stratus with some patchy mist and drizzle also occurring. As previously mentioned, the NAM is the lone piece of guidance that has adequately handled this shallow arctic airmass, as is often the case, and the short term forecast will continue to heavily rely upon it. Fortunately, drizzle is largely only occurring in areas that are at or above freezing, and no significant travel issues should arise this morning. The main focus through the short term is the potential for widespread drizzle to occur tonight, some of which could result in icing in parts of North Texas as temperatures fall into the low/mid 20s. The remainder of the short term forecast below remains on track at this time. -Stalley Previous Discussion: /Through Wednesday/ Our much-anticipated Arctic intrusion has begun, with cold post- frontal air here to stay for the foreseeable future. Unsurprisingly, the NAM is handling the shallow cold airmass the best of all guidance, and the short term forecast will hedge heavily in its direction. The slow-moving cold front is now positioned roughly from Killeen to Athens, and this higher density cold air will continue to spill south over the next several hours, eventually clearing the CWA to the southeast. Behind it, widespread post-frontal stratus will persist through much of the day, and ample cold advection and overcast skies will hold temperatures fairly steady in the 30s and low 40s. Presently, locations from Graham to Sherman have already fallen below freezing. Fortunately, am not expecting precipitation through the morning, although some light mist could result in a small amount of ice on elevated objects. This is the main point where the forecast differs from the NAM, as the model is far too aggressive with producing light QPF though most of today. By this afternoon there is a chance some of our far northwestern and southeastern zones briefly break out of cloud cover, which could allow them to quickly warm a few degrees higher than neighboring overcast areas. Tonight will be a different story in terms of precipitation chances. Most high-res guidance agrees on the development of widespread drizzle and light rain beginning around midnight or later. This is of concern since parts of North Texas, mainly north of a Cisco to Sherman line, will be near or below freezing overnight and into Wednesday morning. We'll carry a mention of rain and freezing rain in the forecast for simplicity's sake, but most of this precipitation will be in the form of drizzle. If temperatures are cold enough like the NAM is advertising (mid 20s), then some minor icing of elevated surfaces could occur across parts of North Texas during this time period. However, if readings stay closer to 30-32, any impacts would be pretty unlikely. We'll begin advertising some freezing rain potential without any formal headlines for now, but if QPF amounts creep up a few hundredths, then a short-fused advisory may be needed for minor icing of bridges/overpasses in parts of North Texas. Wednesday should stay quite cold and cloudy area-wide with highs likely to hold in the 30s to mid 40s. In fact, it's possible some of our North Texas areas don't quite make it up to the freezing mark. This stands in stark contrast to recent GFS/ECMWF forecasts that are as much as 20 degrees warmer since these coarse models want to unrealistically lift the frontal zone back northward. A bit more widespread rain is expected through the day as isentropic ascent increases above the frontal inversion, and we'll carry some chance/likely PoPs through the afternoon. Most of this precipitation should be occurring where temperatures are at least a few degrees above freezing. -Stalley && .LONG TERM... /Issued 232 AM CST Tue Feb 9 2021/ /Wednesday Night and Beyond/ A deep upper low over Manitoba and an active storm track will help to maintain the bitter arctic airmass now affecting the Plains. The leading edge of this airmass should stretch across South-Central and Southeast Texas at the start of the period. The active and progressive storm track will bring multiple opportunities for winter precipitation for much of the area as well, the first of which may be already ongoing Wednesday night. Isentropic lift and a broad swath of light to moderate precipitation will continue Wednesday night as a positive-tilt shortwave enters West Texas. The heaviest of this precip should be across the Central and East Texas counties nearest to the surface boundary. Fortunately, it looks at this time like temperatures in this area will remain above freezing, keeping the precipitation type as cold rain. Farther north and west, precipitation may not be as heavy, but sub-freezing surface temperatures within a shallow cold layer will yield freezing rain. Ice accumulations between 0.01" and 0.05" have been added for areas generally along and north of a line from Paris to Goldthwaite for Wednesday night into Thursday. This could be enough to generate some travel impacts across the region, particularly on bridges and overpasses which are the driving surfaces most susceptible to accumulations. Localized higher amounts are possible, though after analyzing a large suite of hi- resolution guidance, it appears at this time that accumulations should remain below ice storm criteria. No watches are planned at this juncture, but I wouldn't be surprised if a winter weather advisory eventually becomes necessary. Another surge of arctic air will follow in the wake of the passing shortwave and exiting precipitation, dropping just about all of of the region below freezing Thursday night, and keeping temperatures in the 30s on Friday. The next disturbance will approach from the west Friday night and Saturday while the Manitoba low pivots southeast into the Great Lakes region. This combination will send yet a stronger surge of arctic air southward, making for a dangerously cold weekend and some of the coldest air seen in this region for quite some time. It is hard to believe that ensemble means of both the Canadian and GEFS drop Saturday night lows into the teens and single digits. The National Blend guidance has caught on and the 00Z run is substantially colder than previous runs. The temperature forecast has hence been lowered from previous forecasts with Sunday morning lows now ranging from single digits across the northwest, to the 12-16 degree range for the Metroplex, to upper teens across Central Texas. To make matters worse, north winds of 15-25 MPH would drop wind chills below zero across the northwest half of the region, with single digits elsewhere. We will likely need to start looking into hard freeze and wind chill headlines as we approach the weekend, and folks need to plan on protecting those most vulnerable to extreme cold. There is a slight chance of winter precipitation on Saturday as the shortwave passes through, but a lack of moisture will preclude any accumulations. The cold continues into next week, and there may be another shot at winter precipitation on Monday as the next shortwave moves through the Plains. Precipitation would be in the form of snow as the entire column should be below freezing. It is too early to start speculating about accumulations being nearly a week away, but I went ahead and added a chance of snow to the forecast grids due to surprising model to model consistency with the feature. Stay tuned, prepare for the bitter cold and be safe while tackling mother nature the rest of the week! 30 && .AVIATION... /NEW/ /12z TAFs/ Widespread post-frontal IFR stratus has overspread all of North and Central Texas and will prevail through this morning. In addition, some light drizzle and mist is falling at North Texas airports, which is only expected to last another 2-4 hours. With temperatures near freezing, this may necessitate deicing operations through the morning. As the frontal inversion deepens later today, cigs should lift to MVFR at all airports where they will remain through this evening. Later tonight, additional light mist and drizzle is expected to develop over most of the area with cigs likely plummeting down to IFR/LIFR. A prolonged period of low cigs and reduced visibility is expected heading into Wednesday. In addition, temperatures will be near freezing at most North Texas airports which may require additional deicing ops through the day. Otherwise, a north wind around 8-12 kts will prevail through the entire period. -Stalley && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Dallas-Ft. Worth 40 30 40 30 36 / 5 20 50 70 40 Waco 44 33 44 35 41 / 5 10 50 80 60 Paris 36 27 39 32 38 / 10 30 70 80 50 Denton 38 26 39 28 35 / 5 20 50 60 30 McKinney 39 25 39 29 35 / 5 30 60 70 40 Dallas 41 32 40 32 37 / 5 20 50 70 50 Terrell 40 33 40 33 39 / 5 20 60 80 60 Corsicana 42 34 42 36 41 / 5 20 60 80 60 Temple 46 36 45 35 43 / 5 10 50 70 70 Mineral Wells 40 26 37 27 36 / 5 10 30 50 30 && .FWD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 340 AM CST Tue Feb 9 2021 TXZ091>095-100>107-115>123-129>135-141>148-156>162-174-175-100945- Montague-Cooke-Grayson-Fannin-Lamar-Young-Jack-Wise-Denton-Collin- Hunt-Delta-Hopkins-Stephens-Palo Pinto-Parker-Tarrant-Dallas- Rockwall-Kaufman-Van Zandt-Rains-Eastland-Erath-Hood-Somervell- Johnson-Ellis-Henderson-Comanche-Mills-Hamilton-Bosque-Hill-Navarro- Freestone-Anderson-Lampasas-Coryell-Bell-McLennan-Falls-Limestone- Leon-Milam-Robertson- 340 AM CST Tue Feb 9 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for North and Central Texas. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight. Some freezing drizzle is expected to develop after midnight into early Wednesday morning across parts of North Texas. This could result in light ice accumulations on bridges and overpasses for locations near and north of a Cisco to Paris line. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday. There is a chance of freezing rain and sleet late Wednesday into Thursday across North Texas. Some minor accumulations on area roads, especially bridges and overpasses, may cause a few travel delays. Exceptionally cold conditions appear likely by the weekend, with wind chill values falling into the single digits (possibly below zero in some locations) on Saturday and Sunday. Additional frozen precipitation will also be possible on Saturday, but accumulations are not likely. There may be more chances for winter precipitation by Monday, but details are uncertain at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
10 ice storm, 5 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
A male was killed on icy roads when his car lost control on an overpass and rolled over. Several other vehicle accidents were reported during the morning hours as freezing drizzle resulted in icy conditions.
Dallas Police Department reported a multiple vehicle pile-up along Interstate 45 near Lamar Street in Dallas, TX resulting in one fatality. The accident occurred in an icy area along the highway.
Broadcast media reported that a single vehicle accident along Interstate 45 and Illinois Avenue led to 2 fatalities and a major injury. The accident happened when the vehicle lost control on an icy patch along the highway. Another fatality was attributed to the winter weather in Garland. Details of this case are vague, so this fatality, recorded on February 12th, is being included with this entry.
Law enforcement reported a 133 vehicle pile-up, including tractor trailers, along the Interstate 35W south express lanes resulted in 6 deaths and 101 injuries in the city of Fort Worth, TX. The accident occurred along a half-mile icy patch between NE 28th Street and Northside Drive.
Freezing rain and sleet fell across Milam County. Total ice accumulations ranged up to a half of an inch.
Freezing rain and sleet fell across Bell County. Total ice accumulations ranged up to a half of an inch. A trained spotter reported the ice accumulation as mostly from freezing rain. The ice broke tree limbs and caused power outages.
Freezing rain and sleet fell across Robertson County. Total ice accumulations ranged up to a half of an inch.
Freezing rain and sleet fell across Leon County. Total ice accumulations ranged up to a quarter of an inch.
Freezing rain and sleet fell across Falls County. Total ice accumulations ranged up to about 1/2 inch. One fatal accident occurred: Broadcast media reported a fatal accident due to ice on the Big Creek Bridge on State Highway 7 near County Road 181 east of the city of Marlin, TX.
Freezing rain and sleet fell across Lampasas County. Ice accumulation totals ranged up to an inch of sleet. Total accumulations were highest in the southern portions of the county.
Freezing rain and sleet fell across Coryell County. The Emergency Manager reported a quarter inch of ice with unknown sleet today. Total accumulations were highest in the southern portions of the county. The Sheriff's Office reported at least 50 car accidents, mostly on bridges and overpasses.
Freezing rain and sleet fell across Limestone County. Total ice accumulations were highest in the southern portions of the county. Reported ice totals ranged up to a half of an inch. Numerous customers were without power. Emergency management reported multiple minor accidents in the county, ice on the Highway 84 overpass in Mexia, and ice on the Highway 164 bridge over the Navasota River.
Freezing rain and sleet fell across Freestone County. Total ice accumulations were highest in the southern portions of the county. Reported ice totals ranged up to a half of an inch.
Freezing rain and sleet fell across McLennan County. Total ice accumulations were highest in the southern portions of the county. Reported ice totals were about 1/10th to 1/8th of an inch of ice with about 1/2 inch of sleet accumulation.
A vehicle crash in the Celina area resulted in one fatality. Weather was believed to have been the cause of the crash.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather, Grayson | 2021-02-09 | 27 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Winter Weather, Dallas | 2021-02-10 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect | |
| Winter Weather, Dallas | 2021-02-11 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect | |
| Winter Weather, Dallas | 2021-02-11 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect | |
| Winter Weather, Dallas | 2021-02-12 | 20 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Winter Weather, Tarrant | 2021-02-11 | 45 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Winter Weather, Tarrant | 2021-02-11 | 46 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Winter Weather, Tarrant | 2021-02-11 | 54 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Winter Weather, Tarrant | 2021-02-11 | 49 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Winter Weather, Tarrant | 2021-02-11 | 47 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Winter Weather, Tarrant | 2021-02-11 | 34 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Ice Storm, Falls | 2021-02-11 | 63 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
| Winter Weather, Collin | 2021-02-11 | 56 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, February 2021
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: 942740, 941524, 941525, 941532, 943501, 943488, 945088, 945089, 943495, 943484, 943485, 943506, 943508, 943492, 942693.