Threat of An Early Frost
FROST ADVISORY IN EFFECT 4AM – 9AM MONDAY FOR AREAS NW OF METRO.
TONIGHT: Clearing after midnight, Lo: 42 Metro, mid-30's north and west, Winds NW- 5
COLUMBUS DAY: Sunny and Nice, Hi: 69, WINDS SE -10
TUESDAY: Mostly Sunny, Warmer and Breezy, High: 81, Winds SSW 15-25
For the second day in a row we recorded a record low maximum today. DFW Airport peaked at a mere 53°, breaking the record set back in 2000 when the high was 55°.
Clouds again ruled the day with a few passing sprinkles. Just like yesterday, these are temperatures more typical of mid-December through mid-January.
The National Weather Service doesn't keep official records on when the first frost advisories are issued every year. They were able to look up for me last year. Back on Oct. 19th of 2011 they issued a Frost Advisory for areas north of I-20. The earliest Freeze ever recorded inside the metro area happened on October 22nd in 1898.
We can get frost and stay above freezing. The temperatures are taken six feet off the ground, at ground level in low spots temperatures can get down to freezing and form the frost. Cover those tender plants, there should be another month-and-a-half of growing season ahead of us (the average first freeze at DFW: Nov. 22nd).
It is safe to say this is an extremely rare event to have it this cold this early. Record cold grips most of the country. Record lows were set in the Texas Panhandle up to Iowa this morning. Hard Freeze warnings extend from the Texas panhandle over to upstate New York for tonight.
Tonight the skies are going to clear out after midnight as the winds slow to around 5 mph out of the northwest. It'll be in the mid-30's where the Frost Advisory is in effect, it'll be down to the low 40's in the metro area. While not record lows, it certainly is going to get cold:
We'll shake this cold rather quickly tomorrow. It will be a fine Columbus Day, highs should reach into the upper 60's with sunny skies and moderate winds.
Those winds pick up on Tuesday, we'll have highs reach into the low 80's. Wednesday highs will likely stay in the upper 70's as a weak front stalls out over our area. For Thursday through Sunday we'll have highs in the mid-80's with afternoon storms around each day. We are keeping the storm chances low, around 20%.
