The Great Fort Worth Freeze Of 2011 Has Me Shivering & Not Driving

I have had myself a successful venturing in to the Great Freezing Fort Worth Outdoors.

Currently 18 degrees, with the Wind Chill Factor causing it to feel like -12.

I do not recall ever shivering like I was shivering out there. The shivering was caused by taking off my gloves so I could  take pictures.

I was surprised to find people out driving on the thick coat of ice. Including the Fort Worth buses known at the "T".

Most of the vehicles, including the buses, were having serious sliding issues. Which the following photos will sort of show you.

You are looking east on Boca Raton Boulevard, at a car trying to slide up the hill. I doubt the Super Bowl Buffet is open, but, if it was, it would be up this hill, and on the right, where I would go for Chinese food today.

Right after I took this picture I looked across the street and saw Miss Puerto Rico. It was a very slippery crossing to the other side. Then when I got there I realized I'd dropped one of my gloves back where I'd come from.

At these temperatures you can not go long without gloves, so I had to do some more sliding, back across the street. The roads have a very thick coating of ice, but the sidewalks much less.

Miss Puerto Rico and I watched, in semi-horror, as the jack-knifed Dr Pepper delivery truck driver tried over and over again to straighten out his rig at the intersection of Boca Raton and Bridgewood Street. Cars and trucks were sliding down and up Bridgewood, barely missing Dr Pepper. Miss Puerto Rico was out watching when the Dr Pepper truck drove by, fast up the hill, and then went in to a skid as the driver tried to turn left, then going into jack-knife mode.

In the above scene I am right at the aforementioned intersection, after the Dr Pepper truck had de-jack-knifed. The pickup truck, aimed at that guy walking, was sliding down the hill with its wheels against the curb. If you look closely you can see the stop sign that a sliding vehicle took out.

Soon after all those cars cleared out in the previous picture of the downed stop sign, the #21 Fort Worth bus showed up, sliding down the hill, not able to come to a stop, then making the left turn on to Boca Raton, coming to a stop next to the Fort Worth bus that had been stopped ever since I'd been watching the jack-knifed Dr Pepper truck.

I am assuming those buses are still sitting out there, with the drivers realizing it is not safe to be on the roads right now.

I was not able to get a look at the freeway to see if it is moving traffic. I assume it must be. I am also assuming there are a lot of wrecks out there right now.

I've yet to hear anything about how well the Super Bowl temporary buildings are handling this wind, cold and ice.

Are 58 MPH Gusts, Snow, Ice & 8 Degrees Wreaking Havoc With The Temporary Super Bowl Buildings Surrounding The Dallas Cowboy Stadium?

The sun has now arrived, lighting up the icy morning of the first day of the second month of 2011.

As you can see, looking at the view through the bars of my patio prison cell, a layer of white has descended on my zone of North Texas.

The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex is covered in white. I don't know about the rest of North Texas.

Small snow pellets are now falling. Landing on top of a layer of ice.

The National Weather Service WINTER STORM WARNING is in effect until 4 in the afternoon tomorrow.

The low today is scheduled to get down to 8. Tomorrow the low will supposedly be 4. If it gets down to 8 it will be, by far, the coldest since I've been in Texas. The only time I've experienced colder temperatures was one winter while going to college in the Eastern Washington town of Ellensburg. I came back from Christmas vacation to see a bank's temperature sign say it was -18.

Wind gusts are blowing the snow into little drifts. AccuWeather is reporting gusts as high as 58 mph.

I wonder how all those temporary tent-like Super Bowl structures are faring down by the Dallas Cowboy Stadium? How much snow and ice can those roofs handle before collapsing? What level of wind are they engineered to be able to handle?

Is Mother Nature meting out some sort of Divine Retribution for the Worst Case of Eminent Domain Abuse in American History?

The Faith Tabernacle Church by the Dallas Cowboy Stadium is canceling Super Bowl Sunday's church services so they can sell parking spaces to football fans.

I'm not what one would call religious, but I think God might get you for that type behavior.

Ice Storm Freezes Dallas/Fort Worth To A Stop 5 Days Before The Super Bowl

The above is a screen cap from the Dallas Morning News, taken a few minutes ago.

It is currently 19 degrees with a Wind Chill Factor of -7.

I started hearing ice hitting my windows at around 3 this morning, right when the National Weather Service predicted it would arrive.

The sun has not yet arrived but I can see the ground is white, covered with ice.

I do not know how extensive the Ice Storm is, but I do know that the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex has shut down. It is likely no Super Bowlers will be arriving today.

This is either the 3rd or 4th Ice Storm I've experienced since I have been in Texas. My first Ice Storm arrived my second week in Texas. It was a shock. The temperature plummeted overnight to around 15 with the ground covered with a couple inches of ice.

When I moved here I did not realize it could get so cold in this zone of Texas. I remember upon arrival thinking it odd that the house had a fireplace. Why would you want a fireplace in hot Texas?

Last night I saw a guy selling firewood down by Wal-Mart. Little piles of big sticks. I don't see firewood for sale here of the sort you see in Washington. Which makes sense, because you don't see trees here of the sort you see in Washington.

Tonight Battling Wal-Mart Grackles While Thinking Of The Super Bowl Buffet If The Ice Storm Gets Real Bad

The Grackle takeover of the Eastchase Wal-Mart and Sam's Club continues.

I was at Wal-Mart just as the light of the sun was dimming for the day.

Around 6.

Wal-Mart was super busy with what looked like panicked people stocking up on supplies due to the incoming Arctic Blast which starts arriving sometime in the wee hours.

I believe rain is expected at first, followed by sleet by the time the sun returns, Tuesday morning, followed by snow.

So, tomorrow may be a Snow Day in North Texas. I know I won't be going to school. That's for sure.

I did not do any panicked food buying in anticipation of an Ice Storm. I can walk to an Albertsons and a Krogers across the street from my abode. And several restaurants, including the best Chinese buffet I've been to in the D/FW Metroplex, with the very odd name of Super Bowl Buffet.

I do not know if the Super Bowl Buffet is having anything special on the buffet for the Super Bowl.