Snow hits DFW area Thursday

TCU 360 is tracking the developing winter weather story. Check back here for more updates.

Update Feb. 26, 9 a.m.

For the third time this week, winter weather is hitting TCU.

Light snow is falling on campus. The National Weather Service has put a hazardous weather outlook in effect for North Texas.

The National Weather Service is also forecasting a 40 percent chance of snow, mostly cloudy with a high near 31 for the Dallas-Fort Worth area on Friday.

The university has already been impacted by winter weather twice this week. The university was closed Monday due to the dangerous road conditions from the ice and sleet that hit the area.

The ice and sleet from Monday’s storm also delayed the university’s opening until noon on Tuesday.

Terri Gartner, executive assistant to the provost, said university officials will not have a plan regarding weather-related impacts on the university until they see how bad the weather actually is.

“They won’t make a decision until the morning,” Gartner said. “The alert system will be the same as it always is.”

In the case that weather impacts university events or forces the university to be closed, university officials will send out a text message and email to all students through the TCU Alert system regarding the situation.

Gartner said students should follow normal procedures in the case that any potential weather impacts campus.

In the event that weather forces any delays or shuts down the university, officials will keep essentials such as food services open, said Michael Russel, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs.

“If anything happens, we want as many venues open as possible, but our biggest priority is Market Square if nothing else,” Russel said.

Russel said the procedure for opening food services will be mostly the same as Monday. On Monday, Market Square was first on the list to open, followed by The Press, Union Grounds, Obrien’s, Chick-Fil-A, Caliente and then Magnolia’s.

“The new wrinkle would be trying to get the Multipurpose Building open,” Russel said.

While Market Square operated on limited hours and Union Grounds opened mid-afternoon on Monday, staff limitations prevented any of the dining options in the Multipurpose Building from opening. Chick-Fil-A in the Brown-Lupton University Union was also closed for the entire day.

“We’ll wait and see how it all unfolds,” Russel said. “Ultimately it’s the provost’s office’s decision.”

Update Feb. 25, 7:15 a.m.

Snow is falling on campus. The National Weather Service in Fort Worth says motorists should expect reduced visibility and brief hazardous driving conditions with the snowfall.

Precipitation is expected to end quickly from west to east later Wednesday morning.

Update Feb. 25, 6:45 a.m.

Classes will be held as usual, beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Holly Ellman, the interim director of TCU Marketing and Communcation, said in an email.

If anything changes, she said they will use the TCU Alert system.

Update Feb. 24, 11:45 p.m.

The National Weather Service in Fort Worth says a winter weather advisory will be in effect from midnight until noon Wednesday.

The advisory says to expect slippery roads and some travel delays. One to 3 inches of snow is still expected with some locally heavier snowfall. Snow is expected to be wet and slushy.

Update Feb. 24, 5:15 p.m.

The library is closing early tonight as the area braces for another jolt of winter. It will be closed from 10 p.m. Tuesday until 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Update Feb. 24, 4 p.m.

The National Weather Service is forecasting 1 to 3 inches of snow Wednesday for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with the greatest chance of snowfall occurring between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m.

“It will be a quick shot,” said Dan Shoemaker, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Fort Worth. “It should be a narrow band from north to south.”

Shoemaker said there is an 80 percent chance of precipitation in the next 24 hours. He said they may adjust the forecast as more models come in.

“There’s a chance the snow could hit further north, but right now the metroplex is in the bull’s-eye,” Shoemaker said.

Shoemaker said the snow should begin to melt by Wednesday afternoon as temperatures are expected to climb into the 40s.

The university has already been impacted by winter weather once this week. The library is closing early Tuesday night due to the threat of potential winter weather.

The university was closed Monday due to the dangerous road conditions from the ice and sleet that hit the area.

The ice and sleet from Monday’s storm also delayed the university’s opening until noon Tuesday.