May continued its cold, soggy start Monday as heavy rains swamped highways and a stiff north wind chilled Dallas-Fort Worth.

Accidents snarled traffic on highways throughout the area, and there was minor flooding reported on low-lying roads.

The storms brought much-needed rain to the area, but the cold front that accompanied it was less welcome.

A high in the low 50s is expected Monday, which would be the coldest high ever. The previous record was 57, set in 1994.

"We should break that," said Nick Hampshire, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

Another record could come tonight, when temperatures may drop into the low 40s. The record low for May 2 is 44, set in 1978.

The overnight storms also dropped hail and packed plenty of lightning, which may have sparked a church fire in Denton County.

Firefighters arrived at the New Life Tabernacle in Little Elm about 6:30 a.m. to find smoke pouring from the church on El Dorado Parkway. No injuries were reported.

The rain is expected to tail off by this evening, clearing the way for a warm-up later this week.

"We should see off-and-on rain, mostly on, through 4 or 5 before it starts to taper off," Hampshire said.

After that, this week's forecast dries out and warms up, though sunny skies may be fleeting.

Tuesday's high is expected to be in the upper 60s before rising into the upper 70s Wednesday and Thursday.

The weekend will also be dry, with highs in the 80s forecast.