Historic.
This cold air outbreak that we just experienced could end up being once in a generation or even once in a lifetime cold.
Let's take a look at all the records that the Dallas-Fort Worth area has broken so far:
Coldest 3-day stretch on record
Never has there been a colder three days in a row recorded in the D-FW area.
(D-FW weather records go back to 1898)
The average temperature from Feb. 14-16, 2021 was 10.8°.
That beats the old record from Dec. 22-24, 1983, when the average temp was 11.7°.
Third place on that list was Feb. 11-13, 1899 and Dec. 23-25, 1983 with an average temp of 12.3°.
Coldest temp in over 70 years and the 2nd coldest temp ever recorded in the D-FW area
On Feb. 16 the temperature dropped to -2°.
This ties the 2nd coldest temp ever recorded.
On Jan. 31, 1949 the temperature also dropped to -2°.
The only time it has been colder was -8° back on February 12, 1899.
3 days in a row of record lows
Feb. 14, 15, and 16 all observed record low temps.
Feb. 14 the low was 9°, which shattered the old record of 15° set in 1936.
Feb. 15 the low was 4°, which shattered the old record of 15° set in 1909.
Feb. 16 the low was -2°, which shattered the old record of 12° set in 1903.
3 days of record cold high temperatures
From Feb. 14 to 16, all three days observed record cold high temperatures.
This means the afternoon was the coldest on that date that is ever been observed.
Feb. 14 the high was 22°. This breaks the old record of 27° set in 1951.
Feb. 15 the high was 14°, which shattered the old record of 31° set in 1909.
Feb. 16 the high was 18°, which breaks the old record of 21° set in 1903.
Snowfall
The 4 inches of snow that D-FW saw on Valentine's Day was a record for the holiday.
The old record was 3 inches of snow back in 1951.
It was by leaps and bounds the coldest and snowiest Valentine's Day we have ever seen.
By the way, the snow also broke a snow drought. D-FW had not seen 1 inch of snow since March 5, 2015. It had been almost six years since D-FW has seen 1 inch of snow. We busted that drought in a big way!
