
Brace Yourself: Amarillo’s Extreme Cold Weather Alert
It all started with over nine inches of snow in Amarillo. Well, it started a bit before then when the temperatures plummeted, but you catch my drift. Winter arrived out of nowhere, and now we're dealing with some severe winter weather.
We all got a nice little scare when the snow kicked back up on Saturday afternoon, and all we could think of was another dumping. Thankfully, it was more of a dusting than anything else.
While they are predicting a bit more snow, it SHOULDN'T be anything like we got a week or so ago, but it doesn't mean we're out of the woods when it comes to the weather. Extreme cold has entered the region, and even though we're supposed to pop back in the 40s by midweek and upper 50s by the weekend, we've still got to think about overnight.
Snow is expected today (Monday, January 20) and carry over into the evening as well. With that comes frigidly cold temps, 21 degrees for a high today with an overnight low of just TWO degrees.
Yeah while that's cold, it pales in comparison to what the wind chill numbers will be. Amarillo is looking at a wind chill of -9 degrees. Go further north where Dalhart and Gruver are and they're expecting wind chills around -22 degrees.
With the temps where they are, there are things you have to remember. If your pet needs to go outside for any reason, make sure they're out there JUST long enough to do their business then get them back in. Also, if you're laying down salt, keep it off their paws.
When it comes to your car, you need to make sure the battery is strong, the coolant is at an acceptable level, and your tires are aired up. Make sure you've got jumper cables as well. Batteries don't like this kind of cold weather.
If you have to go outside yourself, bundle up. 2-3 layers of clothing is recommended and a weatherproof jacket. Hats, gloves, everything to cover as much of your skin as possible.
Inside the home? Make sure you've got faucets dripping. I can't stress this one enough. If your pipes freeze, you'll have a heck of a problem on your hands when things begin to thaw out. If you have a fireplace, make sure the flue is closed to it, otherwise that cold air seeps in.
We're almost through the worst of it, just hang in there.