Yes, Virginia — North Texas is getting a white Christmas for the first time since 1926, with snow accumulations of an inch or more throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area by late Thursday.
"The snow that you have on the ground right now, it will not melt overnight — it will stay in place, so you will wake up with a white Christmas," WFAA-TV Chief Meteorologist Pete Delkus said.
Big, white flakes of snow began falling near the Stonebriar Centre shoping mall in Frisco just before noon.
"This is a pretty intense band of snow that's moving into the Dallas area," Delkus said.
By 6 p.m., Burleson had received 2 inches of snow; 1.5 inches was recorded in Justin; and one inch was measured at Denton and in Granbury.
There was half a foot of snow on the ground in Springtown and Breckinridge, and Nocona and Olney residents were looking at 8 inches of snow.
A winter storm warning was extended through 9 p.m. for counties to the north and west of Dallas-Fort Worth, including Denton County.
Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties are included in a winter weather advisory during the same time period.
The National Weather Service says the region west and northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth area saw blizzard-like conditions throughout the day Thursday. Winds gusting at up to 65 mph drifted the snow as deep as 5 feet in some areas.
Christmas Eve started with widespread rain in North Texas, but precipitation switched over to snow as temperatures fell through the day.
The National Weather Service also issued a wind advisory for all of North Texas through 9 p.m. Thursday, with sustained wind of 20 to 30 mph and gusts as high as 45 mph.
Motorists should be aware of the potential for icy road conditions during the evening hours as skies clear and overnight temperatures drop into the mid-20s in North Texas.
"The sun will come out tomorrow," Delkus said. "It will be a cold Christmas Day, but it will be a sunny, dry Christmas Day — something that I think everyone's looking forward to."
