Wild weather brings snow to the South and Santa Ana winds to the West

A developing storm is expected to bring more wintry weather across the country, threatening the normally warm areas of New Mexico, Texas and other areas in the South with snow and freezing rain starting Wednesday.

Meanwhile, strong winds walloping the West Coast are posing serious fire risks in southern California, with some communities placed under mandatory evacuation notice.

Residents living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area could see 3 to 6 inches of snow by Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. For that metro, which received just 1.5 inches of snow from 2023-2024, it’s being considered a major storm. Further south, the NWS said, light snow, ice and sleet is possible, likely creating dangerous road conditions and impacting travel and schools.

This all comes after a deadly winter storm brought snow and ice from the Midwest to the mid-Atlantic and freezing temps lingered in the South over the weekend. As of Monday, at least four people died and dozens were injured as the storm moved across several states, including Kansas, Illinois, Virginia and the Washington, D.C., area, stranding cars and knocking out power.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate state emergency response resources ahead of the storm.

“With below-freezing temperatures beginning to impact large portions of the state, Texas is increasing the readiness level of the State Operations Center to ensure resources are swiftly deployed to communities,” Abbott said in a statement Tuesday.

He urged residents to “remain weather-aware, regularly monitor road conditions before traveling, and heed guidance from state and local officials.”

Dallas and Fort Worth have activated temporary winter shelters for homeless residents, city officials said Tuesday.

The system forecast to hit Texas may bring several inches of snow to southeastern Oklahoma and western and central Arkansas Thursday into Friday, the NWS said. These forecasts are still early and the NWS cautions that the extent of the storm and possible snowfall could still change.

Strong Santa Ana winds threaten Southern California

As the South prepped for snow and more cold, some residents in Southern California fled their homes as the NWS said “life-threatening” Santa Ana winds slammed the area and fueled wildfires.

By Tuesday afternoon, winds reached 20-50 mph, but hurricane-force gusts are predicted later to reach 100 mph or more. Strong winds combined with low humidity and dry fuels (of which California has plenty after months of abnormally dry weather) contribute to dangerous conditions and increase risks for wildfires.

Officials in Los Angeles warned that residents living along the path of the Palisades Fire should prepare to evacuate as the fire moved quickly through hills surrounding the area due to the strong winds. Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for people living near Topanga Beach in Los Angeles County.