Is Another Arctic Blast in Store for Texas in February?

For folks in Dallas, TX, and across most of The Lone Star State the first month of 2024 brought some of the coldest temperatures in recent memory. But does February hold the same fate?

Get our free mobile app

You may have seen posts on social media going viral calling for another Arctic Blast the second week of the new month. I've seen a few different maps being shared and retweeted by keyboard meteorologists, but is the information that they are so happily sharing true?

Anyone else see maps like this on social media? They are claiming something like "Another forecasted Arctic blast, saying the second week of February is going to be in the teens, possibly up to 6 days of winter precipitation."

The first thing I thought when I saw this map was "AHHHH! Here we go again." But then I noticed that the top seemed to be chopped off almost as if someone was intentionally hiding information.

The "polar vortex" that hit the U.S. last month is a term that "refers to a counterclockwise flow of air that keeps a block of low pressure and cold air at the planet's poles in place, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS). Occasionally, it descends into the continental U.S."

Well, good news folks, this and other posts claiming another polar vortex will affect Texas this month appear to be fake. More than likely the above map was from January.

The first half of February is looking quite warm. Long-range models do favor slightly above-average temperatures through the middle of the month. However, signs indicate that cooler weather could return by the second half of the month.

Based on this information, the chances of Texas experiencing an arctic deep freeze this month is "especially low."

Stay safe, y'all, and remember to double check things you read on the internet.