A cold front brought a shallow layer of cold air. Warm, moist southeasterly flow above this cold air produced light freezing rain and freezing drizzle for several days.
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 EWX wrote it up.
A cold front brought a shallow layer of cold air. Warm, moist southeasterly flow above this cold air produced light freezing rain and freezing drizzle for several days.
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 Austin/San Antonio, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 30, 2:08 PM CST, 52 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX 208 PM CST Mon Jan 30 2023 .SHORT TERM... (Tonight through Tuesday night) Issued at 203 PM CST Mon Jan 30 2023 ...Hazardous to Very Hazardous Travel Impacts And Isolated Power Outages Are Expected... Short Term... A significant winter storm is already underway, with reports of icing in portions of the Hill Country and even stretching as far south as northern portions of Travis County early this afternoon. A shallow arctic airmass has made it's entrance and is unlikely to budge for at least the next 48 hours. Combine that with the overrunning of gulf moisture over a very cold airmass, and you've got the recipe for a good ole' fashioned Hill Country ice storm. Confidence has increased in accumulations of 1/4 to 3/4 of an inch for the Hill Country, with up to 1/2 inch possible as far east as the Austin Metro, Georgetown, and Round Rock. Observed soundings in Fort Worth this morning should a classic low level inversion, with a super shallow arctic airmass. Temperatures at the surface are hovering around freezing over our area, but just 1000 meters above the surface, temperatures are in the lower 50s! We are expecting several rounds of precipitation to move through over the next 48 hours, hence the unusually lengthy duration of the Warning and Advisory products. One thing to note will be the intensity of each round of precip. The first round will move through into this evening with generally light amounts less than 1/10th of an inch of ice where temperatures dip below freezing. On Tuesday, a second round, likely heavier than the first will move in early Tuesday and continue through late morning/early afternoon. Up to a 1/4 inch of ice accumulation is possible with this round over the Warning area. Lastly, another, perhaps the most significant round, with even some embedded thunder/convective elements will move through late Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning. This round has the potential to create serious issues, especially along the I- 35 corridor along and north of San Marcos. This time period will have to be watched closely as impacts could be the most significant. && .LONG TERM... (Wednesday through Monday) Issued at 203 PM CST Mon Jan 30 2023 Winter weather impacts will continue in many areas across the Hill Country and northern/western portions of the Austin metro through Wednesday. Slow moving upper trough currently spinning off the CA coast will still be well off to our west on Wednesday, but overrunning H7 southwesterlies will keep precipitation chances high through the daytime and evening. Leaning heavily on the NAM for temperature forecasts Wednesday, with at or below freezing temps expected through the morning hours for the areas mentioned above. The rest of south-central Texas should just experience a cold rain. But additional ice accumulations will be possible in the morning hours for northern areas, and potentially into the afternoon. We do still think most spots will reach the 33-34 degree range and then remain steady through Wednesday night. That may not be enough to completely melt off any ice accumulations until later Wednesday night or maybe even Thursday morning in any isolated locations that may remain below freezing, but conditions WILL gradually improve late Wednesday through Wednesday night. Anyone relying on automated forecast apps and even on the NBM will not be seeing an accurate forecast for temperatures and potential ice accumulations this week. Precipitation will gradually diminish from SW to NE early on Thursday. As the trough axis moves through during the day Thursday there is a very low chance for some wrap-around precip for our far northern counties through the afternoon, but in general we should begin to dry out and thaw out! Despite northerly surface flow and clouds remaining in place most of Thursday, only clearing from west to east late in the day, we anticipate highs will reach the mid 40s to even the low 60s near the Rio Grande. With ample sunshine on Friday, the warming trend will continue and highs should top out in the mid 50s to mid 60s. Winds shift to southerly on Friday night, setting the stage for a seasonal Saturday and a warm Sunday with highs into the 60s and lower 70s. && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1126 AM CST Mon Jan 30 2023 An active forecast is in play for the next 24-30 hours as -FZRA and gusty northerly winds are expected, mainly at AUS. Some -FZDZ could sneak into the TAF at SAT or SSF, but it looks unlikely at this point as temperatures should remain above freezing at both locations. Enroute conditions obviously won't be ideal though in the final 1000-2000 feet of descent as a shallow cold airmass remains in place. TAFS are mostly straight forward, as ceilings are expected to remain IFR, with LIFR conditions likely after 06-09Z tonight at all sites. Winds will remain elevated at 10-15 kts overnight with continuing VCSH or -SHRA at SAT, SSF, and DRT through the period. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Austin Camp Mabry 28 33 31 36 / 40 60 80 90 Austin Bergstrom Intl Airport 29 32 30 37 / 40 60 80 90 New Braunfels Muni Airport 29 35 33 37 / 40 50 80 80 Burnet Muni Airport 25 30 28 34 / 40 70 90 90 Del Rio Intl Airport 42 45 40 43 / 40 50 80 70 Georgetown Muni Airport 29 32 29 35 / 40 70 80 90 Hondo Muni Airport 37 39 36 40 / 50 60 90 90 San Marcos Muni Airport 30 36 31 37 / 40 50 80 90 La Grange - Fayette Regional 29 37 35 38 / 40 30 70 90 San Antonio Intl Airport 35 37 35 38 / 40 60 80 90 Stinson Muni Airport 38 39 36 39 / 40 50 80 90 && .EWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Storm Warning until noon CST Wednesday for Bandera-Bastrop- Blanco-Burnet-Caldwell-Comal-Edwards-Gillespie-Guadalupe-Hays- Kendall-Kerr-Lee-Llano-Real-Travis-Williamson. Winter Weather Advisory until noon CST Wednesday for Bexar-Fayette- Gonzales-Kinney-Medina-Uvalde-Val Verde-Wilson. && Short-Term...MMM Long-Term...KCW Aviation...MMM
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio TX 329 AM CST Mon Jan 30 2023 TXZ171>173-183>194-202>209-217>225-228-310930- Llano-Burnet-Williamson-Val Verde-Edwards-Real-Kerr-Bandera- Gillespie-Kendall-Blanco-Hays-Travis-Bastrop-Lee-Kinney-Uvalde- Medina-Bexar-Comal-Guadalupe-Caldwell-Fayette-Maverick-Zavala- Frio-Atascosa-Wilson-Karnes-Gonzales-De Witt-Lavaca-Dimmit- 329 AM CST Mon Jan 30 2023 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for South-Central Texas.. .DAY ONE...Today And Tonight. A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect from 9 AM This morning through Wednesday across the Hill Country, along and east of the I-35 corridor. Significant icing with hazardous to very hazardous travel conditions and power outages will be expected. Expect ice accumulations as high as a quarter to half of an inch, especially across the Hill Country and into the Austin metro area. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the counties along and west of San Antonio along US HWY 90 where icing up to a tenth of an inch will be possible with some hazardous travel conditions but some greater potential for icing does exist across far northern sections of Bexar, Medina and Uvalde counties. Travel conditions across those areas could become very hazardous. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday. A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect from 9 AM This morning through Wednesday across the Hill Country, along and east of the I-35 corridor. Significant icing with hazardous to very hazardous travel conditions and power outages will be expected. Expect ice accumulations as high as a quarter to half of an inch, especially across the Hill Country and into the Austin metro area. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the counties along and west of San Antonio along US HWY 90 where icing up to a tenth of an inch will be possible with some hazardous travel conditions but some greater potential for icing does exist across far northern sections of Bexar, Medina and Uvalde counties. Travel conditions across those areas could become very hazardous. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
1120 AM CST MON JAN 30 2023
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1104 AM FREEZING RAIN 2 ENE GRANITE SHOALS 30.60N 98.35W
01/30/2023 U0.00 INCH BURNET TX PUBLIC
PUBLIC REPORTS FREEZING DRIZZLE OCCURRING.
&&
EHPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AUSTIN/SAN ANTONIO TX
1124 AM CST MON JAN 30 2023
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1041 AM FREEZING RAIN 1 NW FREDERICKSBURG 30.28N 98.88W
01/30/2023 U0.00 INCH GILLESPIE TX PUBLIC
PUBLIC REPORTS FREEZING DRIZZLE OCCURING.
&&
EHThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Light freezing rain and freezing drizzle began on the afternoon of the 30th and continued off and on until February 2. The icing was mainly on trees and elevated surfaces with no significant impact.
Light freezing rain and freezing drizzle began on the afternoon of the 30th and continued off and on until February 2. The icing was mainly on trees and elevated surfaces with no significant impact.
Light freezing rain and freezing drizzle began on the afternoon of the 30th and continued off and on until February 2. The icing was mainly on trees and elevated surfaces with no significant impact.
Light freezing rain and freezing drizzle began on the afternoon of the 30th and continued off and on until February 2. The icing was mainly on trees and elevated surfaces with no significant impact.
Light freezing rain and freezing drizzle began on the afternoon of the 30th and continued off and on until February 2. The icing was mainly on trees and elevated surfaces with no significant impact.
Light freezing rain and freezing drizzle began on the afternoon of the 30th and continued off and on until February 2. The icing was mainly on trees and elevated surfaces with no significant impact.
Light freezing rain and freezing drizzle began in the early morning of the 31st and continued off and on until February 2. The icing was mainly on trees and elevated surfaces with no significant impact.
Light freezing rain and freezing drizzle began in the early morning of the 31st and continued off and on until February 2. The icing was mainly on trees and elevated surfaces with no significant impact.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, January 2023
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: 1078734, 1078735, 1078737, 1078739, 1078736, 1078738, 1078742, 1078741.