Hopefully the worst of the freeze this week is over Thursday with temperatures expected to be a low of 28 and a high of 51.
Schools and local government offices have been shut down since Monday as the area rode out freezing temps with sleet, some snow and rain that left roadways icy and dangerous.
Ector County ISD about 4 p.m. Wednesday detailed that the district will have a two hour delayed start on Thursday. They will also drive the roads in the morning between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. in case they need to cancel school Thursday. UTPB, Odessa College and Midland ISD are also planning a two hour delay for Thursday.
Medical Center Hospital announced all ProCare offices, clinics and non-patient facing departments within the hospital will have a delayed start of 10 a.m. on Thursday morning. All scheduled procedures and surgeries before 10 a.m. will go on as scheduled. As always, the hospital and the Emergency Department will remain open 24/7.
Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett said that county offices will have a delayed start of 10 a.m. Thursday. Fawcett also said the county will reevaluate in the morning and make a decision if it’s sticking with that or closing for the day by 8 a.m. Thursday.
Wednesday saw sleet rain down throughout the Permian Basin as roads remained icy, rendering travel difficult for part of the day. Portions of the Permian Basin, including Odessa and Midland, were under an ice storm warning throughout the day.
However, unlike Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday morning did not see low level moisture in the early hours and the precipitation started around 9 a.m. in Odessa.
“So we’re still expecting freezing rain (throughout Wednesday),” Forecaster Samantha Zuber of the National Weather Service in Midland said. “Some of the dryer air has helped us forgo some of the snow this morning. Moisture is now moving up. I just talked to the Crane County Sheriff and they’re now seeing freezing rain deteriorating road conditions. We can expect that for the next couple of hours as moisture enters the area.”
Wednesday’s high was only 32 degrees with a low of 23.
However, the long-awaited good news is that Thursday should see a return to well-above freezing temperatures.
The high for Thursday is supposed to be 51 with a low of 28 and the return of sunshine to melt off some of the ice.
“Regardless of whatever we get on Wednesday, we should be above freezing (Thursday),” Zuber said. “So luckily, it should melt off. We should have clear skies in the afternoon with warming conditions. We shouldn’t have to worry about it.”
However, Zuber says Thursday night should see some ice re-freeze.
“If there is a significant amount of ice that does accumulate and it starts to melt off tomorrow, we might see another re-freeze Thursday night,” Zuber said. “We’re going to drop into the 20s. We want people to be aware that if they’re heading out the door Friday morning, any wet spots may be ice. There may be some refreezing on the road.”
How much ice is left over on Thursday will depend on how much Odessa and Midland get on Wednesday.
“That is going to depend on how much ice-related accumulation hits the ground,” Zuber said. “Once the sun comes out, it should warm up fairly quickly. It’ll be overcast through the afternoon. I will say that Thursday morning, anything that is still left on the roadways is still going to be there Thursday morning. It’ll take some time to clear off.”
ROAD CONDITIONS
Interstate 20 remained icy well into Wednesday but TxDOT is hopeful about the roads improving Thursday.
“As far as road conditions go (Thursday), it’ll still be a little bit icy but towards the evening, it should clear up,” TxDOT Midland Public Information Director Maryann Cedillo said.
Cedillo did warn that Thursday morning should still see icy roads but that by the afternoon, they should clear up.
Bridges and overpasses still remain the most dangerous and Cedillo is still cautioning everyone of black ice.
“I think it’s because we get pretty overconfident,” Cedillo said. “We think the roadways are fine and it looks fine. I went out yesterday and I thought it looked fine to me but it wasn’t. It was black ice and I slipped. It’s the same thing with your vehicle. You look out while driving and think you can drive faster than you can and there’s black ice out there. Your reaction time is affected. You have to be cautious because it might look safe but it’s not.”
Cedillo is still urging people to hold off travel until towards the end of the week.
“We caution drivers to stay home,” Cedillo said. “If they don’t have to go out, wait until the end of the week to make those trips out. We just want to keep everyone safe and off the roads. If you need to travel, give yourself space and give yourself time to get there. If you see our vehicles brining or sanding the roads, make sure you give us enough time to do our work. There’s no reason to be in a hurry, especially in this kind of weather.”
Drivers can check the road conditions at tinyurl.com/5xccfhvf.
