‘Significant’ icing and heavy downpours threaten 40 million in US

The Texas grid will remain operational during the wintry conditions, state officials confirmed

Freezing conditions and heavy downpours are expected to sweep from the southern United States through central and eastern regions this week.

More than 40 million people are in the path of the hazardous conditions which will last until at least Wednesday, the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Prediction Center warned.

A “prolonged and potentially significant” icy event is expected from Texas to Tennessee early this week. Sleet and freezing rain are likely to create treacherous travel conditions for several days in a row.

The wintry conditions will kick off from Monday morning in the form of freezing drizzle.

Heavy rain and scattered flash floods are possible across eastern Texas and the lower Mississippi Valley on Wednesday due to saturated soils.

Freezing rain is expected to have a significant impact on parts of central Texas, southwest Oklahoma, central Arkansas, and western Tennessee, the NWS reported.

Snowfall is expected to accumulate in portions of West Texas and the Texas Panhandle from Monday night and last through Tuesday night, with snow also possible in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area.

Oil and gas producers were put on notice by state officials over the potential severe weather impacts while the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) maintained that the grid will remain operational during the freezing conditions. In February 2021, more than 200 people died in Texas during Winter Storm Uri after power blackouts spanned most of the state when the grid collapsed.

Temperatures will plummet to single digits, 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit (F) below average, from the central High Plains to the Upper Midwest on Monday, with lows starting out below zero, NWS said. The subzero conditions will be accompanied by dangerous wind chills, as low as minus 55F in the northern Plains early on Monday.

The bitter cold airmass will dissipate later in the week, but temperatures are forecast to remain below average for most of the country with the expection of the Southeast.

In the west, heavy snow is possible over high elevations in western Colorado and southern California with travel becoming difficult in some of the highest mountain passes.

Farther east, lake effect snow is likely around the Great Lakes from today with more than six inches possible off Lake Superior and Lake Erie.