It looks like a whole lot of people had the same idea to get way out of Texas before the big ice/snowstorm hit. The result was an insane amount of traffic at a standstill outside of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Thursday night (January 22).
Memories of the 2021 Texas Freeze Still Linger
As someone who isn’t fond of cold weather, I can’t blame anyone for not wanting to endure the next few days here in the Lone Star State. Not to mention the fact that the Great Texas Freeze of 2021 is still fresh on everyone’s mind. Hopefully, it won’t get that bad, but you never know what to expect from the weather in Texas (other than brutal heat in the summer, of course).
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But I also hate sitting in traffic with a bloody passion. It’s bad enough when I’m not trying to get somewhere by a certain time, but I couldn’t imagine how helpless I would feel sitting in traffic, praying I wouldn’t miss my flight. Being stuck at home during a winter storm is bad enough, but being stuck in an airport would be about as sucky as it gets.
Riding Out the Storm at Home Sounds Better
So, I’ll just keep myself right here at the house, have a few drinks, listen to some tunes, and hope for the best. We’ll see how it all shakes out in the end.
TIPS: Here’s how you can prepare for power outages
LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades
Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.
LOOK: The most extreme temperatures in the history of every state
Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA’s State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall…