It's a back-to-back winter blast threatening to keep some North Texans stuck home again and others working around the clock to keep those who must be out safe.
It may be cold in North Texas, but Peyton Matlock wasn’t about to miss another weekend selling Girl Scout cookies.
Despite below-freezing temperatures Saturday, Matlock set up shop with her sister outside of Son of a Butcher along Lower Greenville in Dallas.
“Me and my sister take shifts, I would say, and then we each take breaks for a little bit. We have a weather pod that we can use,” said Matlock.
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For her, the promise of selling enough to win an international trip far outweighs the day’s discomfort. For her customers, perhaps it was the chance to shake cabin fever.
“There’s been a lot of foot traffic. Everyone’s pretty much got coats and beanies and everything,” she said.
For the second week in a row, DFW is gearing up for winter weather.
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Just days after they were last treated, TxDOT began laying brine along US Highway 75 in Collin County and Interstate 35E/Interstate 35W in Denton County.
Across Dallas, it said residual brine in other areas of the metro would help crews at the onset of possible winter weather, adding they would be on standby. Pretreatment is set to begin in Fort Worth on Sunday.
NTTA said its crews would move to 12-hour shifts Sunday ahead of possible freezing rain.
In Tarrant County, MedStar paramedics are preparing for round two.
“Making sure that they’re response ready, their ambulances are warm and they’re bundled up and safe from the elements themselves,” said Transformation Manager Desiree Partain.
Partain said the agency treated dozens of patients this past week for hypothermia and five for carbon monoxide-related illness.
They’ll again implement extreme weather protocol, using lights and sirens on ice only when it feels less than 20 degrees.
“What we’ve learned about this weather, it’s this balancing act between making sure that we get to our patients and the community promptly but making sure that we get there safely,” she said.
Overnight in Dallas, an inclement weather shelter at Fair Park was one of two facilities open again to get nearly 1,000 people out of the cold.
Our Calling CEO Wayne Walker said the forecasted conditions for Sunday night won’t trigger the protocol necessary to stay open. Still, he said back-to-back events are a challenge.
“You know, there’s only so much budget that the city will reimburse,” said Walker. “As we look towards maybe another inclement weather event happening, usually February’s the coldest month here in Dallas, we just have to trust that the community’s going to show up.”
Walker said while Our Calling needs support for the work it does year-round, winter provides unique challenges. In addition to financial donations and volunteers, it’s currently seeking donations of sweatshirts and sweatpants, blankets and shoes.
