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After two balmy days in the 80s, temperatures crashed Sunday into the 20s. A precipitous drop with, yes, precipitation to go with it.
We've seen freezing rain and sleet on and off most of the day across North Texas, with some heavier pockets of thundersleet at times. Thundersleet is basically a thunderstorm that produces sleet instead of rain...but it still has lightning & thunder associated with it.
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Some locations have picked up over 1/2″ of sleet causing slick spots, mainly on bridges & overpasses. Most of the icy precipitation will end by 7pm. By the way, the last time the DFW Metroplex saw a Winter Storm Warning in March or later was March 6, 2008. Collin County and areas just to the north and east saw a Winter Storm Warning on March 21, 2010.
The bitter cold is the other big story. A wind chill advisory is in effect overnight until 8am Monday for "feels like" numbers in the -5 to 0 range! That is dangerous cold and can lead to frostbite very quickly. Actual temperatures will be in the teens at wake-up on Monday.
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Day before yesterday I was standing beside our peach tree in shorts and flip flops looking at it's new flower buds. Last night was 21 degrees with 35mph winds. This winter was/is a game changer for way of life here at our home. Our year will be focused on becoming more prepared for next winter. All of our infrastructure is designed for the hot summers and not constant freezing. The low temps are not abnormal here, what is unusual is the amount of freezing at such low temps.
Even though I am thankful spring is almost here, I am expecting late freezes to continue longer than is normal. I would not be surprised to hit the high 90's before wildly swinging back to a freeze. Really hard to get used to heat or cold when such extreme changes in temps occur.