Summer mostly remained dry for the entirety of the region of North Texas. The regular feeling of a dry and arid day was changed completely with torrential downpours and flooding across the Metroplex. On Aug. 18, the National Weather Service in Fort Worth said a change in the weather was going to happen the next week with rain expected from Sunday night to Tuesday afternoon.

Even though the region is known for dealing with tornadoes and thunderstorms, the flooding seen throughout the city of Dallas was unlike past events.

Spring cleaning, mowing the lawn and watering the flowers: These are all things every- one can associate with for the spring season. As the spring equinox passed by on March 20, the state was in for something else. The state was welcomed into the new season with a tornado outbreak that reached from Austin to Dallas.

Days before the storm on March 17, the National Weather Service posted a graphic stating that severe weather was expected for March 21, where all threats from severe weather were possible to occur. These threats included hail, strong winds and even tornadoes.

Due to inclement weather, all Dallas College locations closed at 4 p.m. today and will remain closed through Thursday, Feb. 24. Regular operations are scheduled to resume on Friday.

The National Weather Service has been anticipating winter weather since Feb. 18, but was uncertain what would be the exact impact and timing. By Feb. 23, the weather service placed a winter weather advisory for most of the region. On the evening of Feb. 22 , most of the Metroplex was placed under a winter weather warning.

The winter weather warning is in effect until 6 p.m. Feb 24.

Despite not burying the state in snow, the Metroplex and surrounding area faced a winter storm that brought a combination of both ice and snow to the region.

On Jan. 28, the National Weather Service in Fort Worth published a graphic predicting a chance of winter precipitation by Feb. 3. While it wasn’t guaranteed at the time that winter precipitation was coming, it was still possible.

Within days showing updated forecasts of what was to be of a winter storm, a Winter Storm Watch was placed for the majority of North Texas Jan. 31 as it soon turned into a Winter Storm Warning by Feb. 2 for the entire region.

**UPDATE II: Dallas College will remain closed on Saturday, Feb. 5, due to inclement weather. All in-person classes are cancelled, with online classes remaining available. Regular operations are scheduled to resume on Monday, Feb. 7.

**UPDATE: Dallas College announced that all of its locations would close beginning at 5 p.m. Wednesday due to inclement weather, including the Richland Campus.

Winter weather arrived in the DFW Metroplex Wednesday evening, and a Winter Weather Warning was issued by the NWS for all of the Metroplex and surrounding counties and will be in effect until 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Sleet and snow accumulations are expected to be around 2 to 4 inches while ice is expected to accumulate to between .1 and .2 of an inch.

The winter season is known for its cold days with holiday decorations and snow days. For North Central Texas this winter season, people may end up in shorts and floral button-up shirts rather than parkas and winter boots.

According to the Climate Prediction Center, North Central Texas is projected to see a 68% chance of above average temperatures.

Hurricane season has gotten underway throughout recent weeks with Hurricane Ida, a major hurricane bringing devastation to the states of Louisiana and Mississippi. Torrential rain, wind speeds reaching over 100 mph and even tornadoes were spotted from the Gulf states of Louisiana and Mississippi and even as far as New England.

“It’s at a point where we need to do big things now. Things are starting to fall apart as we wait for things to accelerate. It’s better to spend more money now,” said Dallas College Sustainability Education Coordinator Lori Delacruz Lewis in regard to global sustainability efforts.

Spring is in the air, which occasionally means severe weather is in the air too. In the 21st century, Texas residents don’t need to look up into the sky and wonder what’s going on. They have an ally in local news outlets that partner with the National Weather Service (NWS).

As millions of Texans sat in their homes with no power or water and temperatures below freezing, there was little to no communication from energy companies or government officials, so grass root organizations and groups of young activists took it upon themselves to fill in the gaps that Texas government officials were not filling.