Travel Discouraged as Winter Storm Freezes the Crossroads
Freezing Rain, Sleet, Frosty Temps! We got it all.
In all seriousness, road conditions have deteriorated rapidly in Victoria and the Crossroads area this afternoon and into our Sunday evening. Travel is discouraged at this time. The National Weather Service has issued several alerts with this Winter Storm including a Winter Storm Warning: Sun 6 pm to Mon 12 pm, a Wind Chill Warning: Sun 6 pm to Tue 12 pm, and a Freeze Warning: Sun 6 pm to Tue 12 pm.
Icing will be present on the roadways in town and out in the county. If you must travel you are urged to drive slowly and with caution. Bridges and overpasses are already very slippery.
The extremely cold temperatures are nothing to take lightly. Sub-freezing temps from 15 to 20 degrees are expected overnight in the area. Cold temperatures and wind chill readings near zero will stay with us after the winter storm warning ends on Monday and may remain in the area until Tuesday.
(Sat 2/13) The Winter Storm Warning for Victoria County has been updated once again by the National Weather Service. Both the Wind Chill Watch and Freeze Watch have been elevated to warnings.
- Winter Storm Warning: Sun 6 pm to Mon 12 pm
- Wind Chill Warning: Sun 6 pm to Tue 12 pm
- Freeze Warning: Sun 6 pm to Tue 12 pm
Patchy light rain and freezing drizzle is expected over South Texas and the Crossroads area. The greatest threat will be to Victoria and the Coastal Bend. While the icing is not expected to be significant, ice may develop on bridges and overpasses, and other surfaces.
The Winter Storm Watch issued for South Texas on Friday was updated to a Winter Storm Warning on Saturday afternoon.
- Winter Storm Warning: Sun 6 pm to Mon 12 pm
- Wind Chill Watch: Sun 6 pm to Tue 12 pm
- Freeze Watch: Sun 6 pm to Tue 12 pm
The update for Victoria county is due to the chance for heavy mixed precipitation that may occur with this winter storm. Total accumulations may be up to one inch of wintry precipitation. The winds may gust up to 35mpg with wind chills possibly reaching near zero at times during the duration of the warning.
Avoid travel during the warning if possible as road conditions could quickly deteriorate. If you have to go out consider having a flashlight, food/water, and maybe even a blanket with you in case of an emergency. Road conditions for the state of Texas are available by dialing 5-1-1.
(Fri 2/12) The National Weather Service has issued several watches for South Texas and the Crossroads as a winter storm is expected to bring what could be historically low temperatures to Victoria Sunday night and Monday.
- Winter Storm Watch: Sun 6 pm to Mon 6 pm
- Wind Chill Watch: Sun 6 pm to Tue 12 pm
- Freeze Watch: Sun 6 pm to Tue 12 pm
You may have heard about the extreme 130 car pile-up on I-35 in Fort Worth just days ago? The extreme cold and icy conditions created some pretty awful spots along the highway and motorists hitting the ice could not stop in time to avoid several accidents. Those very cold temperatures will be here in the Crossroads very soon.
Temps Saturday and Sunday will struggle to reach 40 degrees and overnight lows will be in the teens. Remember to take precautions to protect your pipes and outdoor faucets from freezing.
The National Weather Service first issued the weather watches by Friday afternoon. By the time most got off work, can you guess where they went?
Yes! The famous 'bread and milk' run was on. It's always surprising to head to HEB and see all carts are in use. One of my coworkers went before 5. I headed to the same HEB around 6. We never did see each other but that store was loaded. Everybody had the same idea. We thank our great HEB workers throughout Victoria. We always have a great experience pandemic or not. They are great neighbors to have in our town.
As reported earlier in the week the record low for the Crossroads in February is 9 degrees set back in 1989. There is a chance we will be very close to that number early Monday morning. Let's all get ready to go line up for air at the gas station. Low tire lights for days are coming soon. Ahh winter.
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