The extreme cold weather prediction for the Dallas/Fort Worth area has prompted the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to issue a weather watch for Jan. 15-17.

The weather watch, according to ERCOT, is a 3–5-day advance notification of “forecasted significant weather” which could result in higher electrical demand and the potential for lower reserves.

ERCOT anticipates grid conditions “to be normal” during the weather watch. However, grid conditions will be closely monitored. The council stated that they “will deploy all available tools to manage the grid, continuing a reliability-first approach to operations.” 

As of Wednesday, Jan. 10, the National Weather Service is predicting cold temperatures Saturday night in Collin County with lows in the 20s with wind chill values as low as 15 degrees after midnight. Sunday’s high will be in the mid-30s, then falling in the upper 20s. Sunday night there is a slight chance of freezing rain and snow showers with lows around 10 or above. On Monday, Jan. 15, the highs will be in the mid-20s with wind chill values as low as 10 below in the morning and 10 degrees or above in the evening. Tuesday’s temperatures are expected to be in the low 30s.

Residents are encouraged to sign up for grid condition notifications through the Texas Advisory and Notification System (TXANS) and subscribe to ERCOT Emergency Alerts, which are not sent through TXANS notifications, and download the ERCOT Mobile App for additional notifications: iOS | Android.

Additionally, Texans can also monitor real-time and extended grid conditions at ercot.com and at forecast.weather.gov