An arctic front delivered a light snow and bitter cold to North Texas on Monday, plunging temperatures into the teens, shutting down a highway and prompting continued warnings about the state’s power grid.

Much of the snow fell before dawn, and many woke Monday to the region’s first snow of the season.

Meteorologists, who had not expected snow to accumulate, instead reported totals ranging from a half-inch to 2 inches across Dallas-Fort Worth. They credited a weather phenomenon called lake-effect snow, in which cold, dry air passes over warm lake water, forming clouds that produce snow.

Bone-chilling temperatures are expected to stick around, and millions in North and Central Texas will remain under a hard freeze warning and winter weather advisory through at least Tuesday morning.

Citing extreme temperatures, high demand and unseasonably low wind, ERCOT, which operates the state’s main power grid, implored residents and businesses to conserve energy Monday morning and again from 6 to 9 a.m. Tuesday, when state leaders have said the grid will be the most vulnerable.

Photos: Snow and Ice hit North Texas

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ERCOT is working to avoid a repeat of February 2021, when a massive winter storm crippled the state’s power grid and killed more than 240 people. Three years later, the crisis remains on the minds of many Texans.

By late Monday afternoon, the grid had withstood soaring demand. Roughly 2,000 residents in Dallas-Fort Worth were without power as of 3:30 p.m., largely due to below-freezing temperatures and electric poles damaged by car accidents, said Kerri Dunn, a spokeswoman for Oncor, the state’s largest electric company.

“We understand any outage during these low temperatures is especially frustrating for customers,” Dunn said in an email. “Our crews are actively responding to any outage that occurs in order to restore power as soon as safely possible.”

In Dallas, the city’s three warming shelters — Fair Park Grand Place, Austin Street Center and Oak Lawn United Methodist Church — have served 1,130 people and 20 pets, city officials said at a news conference Monday. Shelters will remain open Tuesday, and donations of coats, blankets and bottled water are needed.

The front also disrupted both road and air travel. In Grapevine, an eight-vehicle wreck involving a fire truck shut down a stretch of Highway 121 near Highway 114 for nearly three hours. The accident occurred when a passing vehicle struck a fire engine blocking the road in response to an unrelated crash. One person was injured.

Dallas Fire-Rescue on Monday responded to more than a hundred “cut off water” calls, said Jason Evans, a spokesman for the department. Cut off water calls are often indicative of burst pipes, Evans said.

Meanwhile, delays and cancellations piled up at DFW International Airport and Dallas Love Field. By mid-afternoon Monday, 15% of flights leaving DFW were canceled, and 41% were delayed. At Love Field, 20% were canceled and 16% delayed.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground delay for nearly two hours Monday morning for flights coming into DFW. Authorities urged people to avoid travel if possible.

“Please stay home if you are able. If you must travel, try to avoid elevated roads, bridges and overpasses that may be covered in ice,” Grapevine police wrote on Facebook. ‘No matter what road you are on, slow down and use extreme caution.”

Juan Hernandez, a meteorologist with the weather service in Fort Worth, warned that Tuesday morning’s commute could be particularly treacherous, because melted snow will refreeze overnight, creating sheets of ice. School districts across the region, most of which were closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, have announced they will close Tuesday.

“Conditions will be sub-optimal on Tuesday,” Hernandez said. “We want people to know travel could be hazardous.”

Forecast for Dallas via KXAS (NBC5):

MONDAY: Cloudy and very cold with a 40% chance a light snow in the morning. Becoming sunny by afternoon. Low: 11. High: 24. Wind: N 10-20 mph.

TONIGHT: Mostly clear and very cold. Record-tying cold. Low: 11. Wind: N 10-15 mph.

TUESDAY: Partly cloudy to mostly sunny and quite cold. Low: 11. High: 28. Wind: N 10-15 mph.

WEDNESDAY: Sunny, breezy and chilly. Low: 18. High: 44. Wind: SE 10-15 mph.

THURSDAY: Partly sunny and milder. Low: 33. High: 55. Wind: SW 10-15 mph.

FRIDAY: Partly cloudy and chilly. Low: 26. High: 42. Wind: N 10-20 mph.