After the backlash, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) now releases monthly prediction reports of conditions similar to the last severe winter storm. ERCOT has warned Texans of potential blackouts paired with the snow expected this week.
With the memory of surviving without power and water for days still fresh, Texans prepare for the worst possible conditions when the forecasted temperature dips. Already, some area grocery stores reportedly have experienced a rush on essentials. Toilet paper, bottled water and generators are hot commodities as Dallasites prepare to hunker down.
Storm Uri was unprecedented in a number of ways, so it’s hard to imagine the state could get any colder, but alas, winter storms of years past prove it is possible. Compared to the coldest days on record, the below-freezing temperatures expected this week seem warm.
Here are the 9 coldest days in Dallas history.
9. Jan. 17, 1930, 2°
8. Feb. 8, 1933, 2°
7. Feb. 13, 1905, 1°
6. Jan. 1, 1912, 1°
5. Jan. 18, 1930, –1°
Despite being affected by the Dust Bowl in 1930, which caused severe droughts, heat spells and dust storms across the Great Plains, the '30s also had its fair share of cold moments in Dallas. Three of the coldest days in city history were in the early days of the Great Depression.
4. Dec. 23, 1989, –1°
Before 2021, the December 1989 cold wave offered the harshest conditions many Texans could remember. The storm brought 8 inches of snow to North Texas and a handful of tornados to East Texas. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport recorded 295 consecutive hours of freezing temperatures. That’s 12.29 days straight. On the bright side, Dallas experienced a rare white Christmas.
3. Jan. 31, 1949, –2°
A series of snowstorms ravaged the Great Plains, creating the lowest recorded temperature in Dallas for 70 years. The storm caused several pipes to burst in the city and a minor flood of the Trinity River. Months later, the river would flood again and grow to a 14-block-wide lake, but that’s a different story.
2. Feb. 16, 2021, –2°
Four years later and Texans still talk about the record-setting storm that changed the way the state approaches winter weather. Storm Uri was one of the most fatal natural disasters in recent history, as 246 people died and the state moved into survival mode. Gov. Greg Abbott issued a declaration of disaster in every single county in Texas.
1. Feb. 12, 1899, –8°
The Great Blizzard of 1899 brought icy temperatures that have stood for more than 120 years. Texas weather sure has a penchant for ruining Valentine’s Day plans.
