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Grueling heat has been forecast for North Texas this week and multiple public alerts and notifications have been issued for the area.
The National Weather Service issued excessive heat and red flag warnings for many parts of North Texas this week. The Dallas-Fort Worth area was also under an air quality alert Tuesday.
Here is what you need to know about some of the different alerts, notices and warnings you might see during the hottest times of the year:
Electric grid
Demand on the ERCOT grid, which provides power to about 90% of Texans, reached an all-time high Monday afternoon.. The new unofficial record is 83,403 megawatts, according to Grid Status, which tracks energy demand on U.S. electric grids.
In May, ERCOT reported the projected peak demand for summer is 82,739 megawatts. Although it said the grid is prepared for the projected demand this summer, brownouts are possible under extreme scenarios.
Even when the grid is operating normally, ERCOT can issue a weather watch if it expects significant weather events with high demand.
ERCOT also issues voluntary conservation notices when “tight operating reserves” in power supply could “pose a reliability concern.” In the most extreme cases, controlled outages would be implemented.
Oncor spoeswoman Kaiti Blake said the company would alert its customers of any controlled outages announced by ERCOT through its website and social media channels. The company has about 870,000 customers in Tarrant County and more than a million customers in Dallas County, according to its website.
“As soon as we know anything, we’re ready to pass on that information to our customers,” Blake said.
Weather
Allison Prater, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, said the criteria for heat advisories and extreme heat warnings depend on the air temperature and the heat index, which accounts for humidity.
If an area has temperatures of 103 or more, or an heat index of 105 or more, the National Weather Service can issue a heat advisory. For an extreme heat warning, the threshold is an air temperature of 105 or more and a heat index of 110 or more, Prater said.
When issuing either a heat advisory or excessive heat warning, the weather service also considers how widespread or isolated conditions are in a geographic area.
During times when weather conditions are extremely hot and dry, the weather service can issue a red flag warning to notify people of heightened fire risk.
“Critical” and “elevated” levels of fire risk in Dallas-Fort Worth depend on multiple factors, including wind speed, humidity and lack of precipitation.
“Highest fire weather concerns are going to be along and west of Interstate 35, where humidity levels are much lower in the afternoon,” Prater said.
The weather service also issues air quality alerts at the request of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Burn ban
Dallas County is currently under a burn ban, according to the fire marshal’s office website. The ban, which was issued Tuesday, is effective for 60 days.
Under a brn ban emergency declaration, activities that involve outdoor burning or open flames are prohibited, according to the Dallas County website.
Information from the Dallas County fire marshal, Texas A&M Forest Service and National Weather Service is used to determine when a burn ban is necessary, the website states.
Drought
As of Tuesday, most parts of Dallas County were experiencing “moderate drought,” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The monitor is produced weekly by researchers, meteorologists and climatologists from the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Dallas has three stages of drought response that can limit an individual’s “non-essential water usage, “ according to the city’s drought contingency plan. Each stage is triggered based on “weather conditions; total water supply availability or water sub-system supply availability; rate of water supply decline or replenishment; or anticipation of change in water supply/treatment/distribution capacity,” the plan states.
The director of the city water department can order a number of reductions in water usage, including those related to landscaping, city government operations and recreation, such as swimming pools or jacuzzi. The first stage responses are designed to reduce daily per capita water usage — measured in gallons — by 5%. The second stage seeks to reduce daily per capita water usage by 15% and the third stage aims for a 20% reduction.
The following conditions are the triggers for each of the three stages:
Stage 1:
When the total water levels of the lakes that supply the city’s water are 35% depleted;
when water demand has reached or exceeded 85% of delivery capacity for four consecutive days;
when water demand leads to a reduced delivery capacity for all or part of the system;
when water line breaks or pump or system failures impact the ability of Dallas Water Utilities to provide treated water service;
natural or man-made contamination of the water supply source.
Stage 2:
When the total water levels of the lakes that supply the city’s water are 50% depleted;
when water demand has reached or exceeded 90% of delivery capacity for three consecutive days;
when water demand leads to a reduced delivery capacity for all or part of the system;
when water line breaks or pump or system failures impact the ability of Dallas Water Utilities to provide treated water service;
natural or man-made contamination of the water supply source.
Stage 3:
When the total water levels of the lakes that supply the city’s water are 65% depleted;
when water demand has reached or exceeded 95% of delivery capacity for two consecutive days;
when water demand leads to a reduced delivery capacity for all or part of the system;
when water line breaks or pump or system failures that impact the ability of Dallas Water Utilities to provide treated water service;
natural or man-made contamination of the water supply source.
While it’s rare such restrictions are ordered, those who violate aspects of the plan when in effect are subject to fines ranging from $250 to $2,000. Repeat offenders risk penalties such as having a flow restrictor installed on their residence or loss of service, according to the plan’s enforcement section.