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In North Texas, It's Warming Into The 40s, But Freezing Rain Is Possible Wednesday

National Weather Service
There's a slight chance of freezing rain Wednesday in the northern parts of the region.

Temperatures should climb into the mid-40s Tuesday throughout North Texas, but light drizzle and even some freezing rain might greet the northern parts of the region late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.

Temperatures will be around or below freezing early Wednesday in the northern parts of North Texas – north of a line from Bowie to McKinney to Athens, the National Weather Service says. That means conditions are ripe for some freezing rain in areas north of Dallas-Fort Worth.

However, the chance of light rain or freezing rain is slight. If it does fall, it should fall between 6 and 9 a.m. Wednesday. The weather service says it can’t rule out some light accumulation, especially on elevated surfaces.

Temperatures will rise above freezing late Wednesday morning and should climb into the mid-50s.

It’ll get warmer as we head toward the end of the week – in the 60s Friday.

5,000 power outages in North Texas

Forecasters say Texas has seen the worst of a wintry blast with temperatures gradually warming and power being restored to areas that went dark.

Dallas-based Oncor on Tuesday reported less than 200 North Texas customers without electricity after nearly 5,000 outages Monday night. AEP Texas had about 225 customers, mainly in far South Texas, without power as crews work to restore operations.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the power grid handling 85 percent of the state's power load, has appealed for conservation amid increased demand. ERCOT says it came close to instituting rolling blackouts Monday due to high electricity usage and a couple of generation units in north central Texas not working in the cold temperatures.

Across the country, it's cold -- very cold

A dangerous mass of arctic air is marching toward the south and eastern United States after leaving much of the midwest miserable with wind chills as low as minus 55.

Wind chill warnings stretched as far south as Alabama and Florida, and schools in places such as Atlanta were canceled Tuesday. Officials in Maryland worried that roads wet from melting snow would freeze as temperatures fell.

Tennessee utility officials braced for near-record power demand, while Ohio prepared for its coldest temperatures in decades.

The polar air broke temperature records in Chicago, Fort Wayne, Ind., Oklahoma and Texas on Monday.

National forecasters say more than 187 million people could be affected by the weather system before it departs by week's end.

This story includes reporting from the Associated Press.

Weather roundup

Here’s a roundup of weather coverage from KERA and NPR.

1. Deaths Are Bitter Reminder Of Cold Snap's Dangers

2. Millions Forced To Cope With Frigid Weather

3.What's A Polar Vortex? Five Things You Should Know About This Arctic Blast

4. UPDATE: We Came Close To Rolling Blackouts Monday; ERCOT Encourages Texans To Conserve Energy

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.