The weather gods have heard us, disparaging our mild winter, our complaining that it's been marred by rain and have decided that they shall smite us for our blaspheming. This weekend, they are summoning the worst of their winter tricks — the mighty blue norther — to awaken us from our complacency and make us feel winter deep in our bones.
Between midafternoon Friday, when temperatures are supposed to crest in the mid-70s, and Sunday morning, temperatures could drop by as many as 50 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.
"As the strong early weekend system and arctic front exit the area, blustery and very cold conditions are expected Saturday night into Sunday morning. Lows falling through the 20s will combine with the gusty north winds for wind chills in the single digits north, teens south early Sunday morning," the agency says. "The north winds will slowly diminish by Sunday afternoon, but despite sunny conditions, highs will only nudge into the 40s. Sunday night will be clear and cold, with light northeast winds becoming south-southeast overnight. Lows Sunday night will fall into the mid 20s and lower 30s."
Put more simply: Keep the dog inside, keep plenty of your favorite liquids handy, tip your delivery person extra and find something to binge, because this weekend is going to be fit for neither man nor beast.
Blue northers — the term is especially popular in the Texas Panhandle but has become more common elsewhere — separate themselves from normal cold fronts because they bring cold northern winds, blue-black skies and extreme temperature drops. According to The Weather Channel, a famous November 1907 blue norther dropped record-high temperatures in the 80s into the teens in a matter of hours.
Not saying that's going to happen here, but don't say we didn't warn you.
However bad things get over the weekend — there's no winter precipitation in the forecast for Dallas, for now — things should be back to normal by Monday, when seasonal high temperatures in the mid-50s are expected.