Road Crews Prepare for Winter Weather

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TxDOT Crews Ready for Winter Weather

Road crews are ready for North Texas' upcoming Christmas storm.

Road Crews and Residents Prepare for Winter Weather

Drivers prepare their cars for the winter weather while road crews across Tarrant County watch and wait for any winter weather related issues.

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Road crews are preparing for the possibility of a white Christmas.

A powerful storm system is expected to bring rain and snow to North Texas.

Rain on Christmas morning is expected to mix and eventually change to snow by the evening. Up to 1 inch of snow is possible for Dallas and Fort Worth on Christmas afternoon and evening.

However, 1 inch to 3 inches of snow is possible toward Denton and McKinney and areas near the Red River.

The Texas Department of Transportation, which monitors more than 10,000 lane miles of roads in North Texas, will have crews keeping an eye on the weather and the ground temperature.

The agency will have roadrunners, crews that look for bad spots on the roads, out in the area. They will check on bridge railings and high points that freeze first to see if there are any sign of freezing or sticking, TxDOT spokeswoman Michelle Releford said.

Releford said the ground temperature will ultimately dictate if the expected rain or snow sticks to the ground.

If needed, about 400 crews are available for TxDOT's 16-county North Texas region. Fort Worth and Dallas each have 30 trucks ready to roll.

Some drivers say the idea of a white Christmas outweighs any worries about dangerous road conditions.

"I'm originally from Illinois, so [I'm] not scared of bad weather," said Ashley Ruiz, of Dallas. "A little dusting of snow isn't going to keep me away from friends and family on Christmas."

But other drivers will be on the lookout for ice.

Jerdal Whitaker said he learned how to drive on the ice while going to school in Lubbock but Dallas drivers aren't quite used to it yet.

"You definitely have to worry about everyone while you're driving, especially out here," he said. "We're not used to the weather that comes, especially when it's ugly, so you definitely have to drive slow."

Marlon Bible's car has big rims and low-profile tires. His LED wheels even light up, showing off every color of the spectrum. But they don't do well in ice or snow.

"I'm just hoping it's not ice. If it is, I'm going to be smart and keep it parked," he said.

The same system that is set to move into North Texas beginning Monday night dropped a significant snowfall on portions of California over the weekend.

NBC 5's Ben Russell, Samantha Davies and Ken Ken Kalthoff contributed to this report.

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One Killed in Plano House Fire

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A man died in a house fire in Plano on Christmas Eve.

Plano firefighters were called to the home in the 2500 block of Park Haven Drive at about 7:20 p.m.

A firefighter sustained burns after kicking in a door in an attempt to rescue the victim.

The victim was the only person in the home at the time of the fire, firefighters said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The injured firefighter is expected to recover.

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Jerry: "Not A Thought" About A Coaching Change

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It appears that Jason Garrett will be back in Dallas in 2013, whether or not the Cowboys are able to beat the Redskins to earn an NFC East crown and a playoff berth.

According to a report on Sunday, Jerry Jones hasn't given any thought to making a change at head coach.

"I didn't hear that and have not even thought about anything different than Jason being our coach," Jones said, per the Dallas Morning News. "That's the only response that I have to it. … Seriously, and I'll be real serious about it, I have no thoughts about making a coaching change."

For all the Cowboys' struggles this season, Garrett has the team in control of their own destiny at 8-7.

"There's not a thought," Jones added, "there have been no conversations about anything differently than our keeping Jason."

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Christmas Storm: Snow This Afternoon

Samantha Davies, NBC 5 Weather

A strong storm system will bring rain and snow to North Texas on Christmas Day and night. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect from Noon until 9PM Tuesday for Denton, Collin, Jack, Wise, Hunt, Delta, Hopkins, Montague, Cooke, Grayson, Fannin & Lamar counties.

Christmas Day Weather Update

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A strong storm system will bring rain and snow to North Texas on Christmas Day and night. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is in effect from Noon until 9PM Tuesday for Denton, Collin, Jack, Wise, Hunt, Delta, Hopkins, Montague, Cooke, Grayson, Fannin & Lamar counties. 

Thunderstorms this morning produced small hail, pockets of heavy rain and lightning across North Texas. Between noon and 2PM,  the rain will begin to mix with and eventually change to snow. By  Christmas afternoon and evening expect  snow across the Metroplex. The heaviest totals will likely occur over Bowie and Sherman with 2-4" expected.  1-2" of snow will fall through the Metroplex. Areas south of I-20 will see a dusting.  Snow will end by 9PM

Temperatures will drop throughout the day to near freezing by the late afternoon. Winds will be Northwesterly gusting up to 40 mph. Wind chill values will be in the teens.

The strong winds will also create hazardous driving conditions. Blowing rain and snow will reduce visibility. With temperatures falling into the teens and 20s there may be icy spots on the roads Wednesday morning.

CHRISTMAS DAY:  Morning rain and storms, rain/snow mix from noon-2pm, snow from 3-9pm. Very windy and turning colder.  Temperatures: 40s in the morning falling into 30s by afternoon.  Wind: NW 15-30 mph with gusts to 40 mph.

CHRISTMAS NIGHT: Snow ending. Cloudy and windy. Wind chills in the teens and single digits. Low: 19.

WEDNESDAY:  Partly cloudy and very cold. There may be icy spots on roads and sidewalks.  High 33.  Wind:  N 10 mph.

THURSDAY:  Partly cloudy and cold.  Low: 25.  High 48.  Wind:  S 10-15 mph.

FRIDAY:  Mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of showers.  Low 32.  High 47.  Wind: N 10-20 mph.

SATURDAY:  Mostly sunny.  Low: 27.  High: 49.  Wind: S 10 mph. 

SUNDAY:  Partly cloudy.  Low: 28.  High: 55.  Wind: S 10 mph.

New Years Eve:  Mostly Sunny.  Low: 35.  High: 55. 

Take NBC 5's million-watt First Alert Radar with you everywhere you go. The NBC 5 First Alert Radar app is available for download free for iPhone, iPad and Android. Search NBC 5 in the App Store or Google Play and download it and rate it today! CLICK HERE for more information.

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Lightning Sparks Condo Fire In Fort Worth

NBC 5

Several firefighters respond to a fire in east Fort Worth.

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Firefighters believe overnight lightning sparked a fire that destroyed four condominiums early Christmas morning.

The fire began around 2:00 a.m. in the 12000 block of Bay Avenue. Flames quickly spread through the homes. 

Firefighters rescued a family of four from their balcony.  The family included two children under the age of ten.

No one was injured.

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Christmas Morning Fire Sweeps Through Dallas Apartments

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Fire forced ten people in Dallas out of their apartments early Christmas Morning.

The fire broke out at the Montecito Palms Apartments in the 8400 block of Skillman Street around 2:00 a.m. Tuesday.

Firefighters arrived to find flames near the third floor chimney.

The Red Cross is on scene, helping the ten people displaced.

There are no injuries.

Investigators are still searching for a cause.

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Garrett Made Correct Calls Vs Saints

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In any NFL game, a head coach is faced with numerous decisions that can greatly affect the outcome. Nearly all aspects of a coach's game management—things like fourth-down decisions, timeouts, and onside kicks—have a significant impact on his team's success. On Sunday, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett made two decisions that many are criticizing today—one to run the ball only 10 times and another to kick an extra point near the end of regulation. Despite the disapproval, Garrett made good decisions on both fronts.

Run/Pass Balance

It may have once been true that teams needed to run to set up the pass, but the elite teams in today's NFL pass the ball early and often. Although rushing the ball frequently is strongly correlated with winning, that's only because teams that are already winning run the ball late. The Cowboys and most NFL teams actually win more when they pass to start games; the 'Boys have historically won nearly 50 percent more often when they pass the ball on at least 57 percent of snaps in the first three quarters.

On Sunday, the Cowboys passed on 81.8 percent of their offensive snaps. That had led to some criticism of Garrett's clock management; there are firm believers out there that you need to "control the clock" to win in the NFL. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Like rushing attempts, time-of-possession is strongly correlated with team wins, but again, that's simply a result of winning teams running the ball late in games. In reality, there's no causal relationship between possessing the ball and winning after accounting for game situations, i.e. you don't win games simply by holding onto the ball.

Further, good teams should actually avoid "controlling the clock." It's of course advantageous to have the ball, but running simply for the sake of winning time-of-possession is self-defeating. Since running is generally sub-optimal to passing, trying to control the clock early in games via the ground often results in fewer plays and, ironically, less time with the ball.

In the end, it's important to understand that leading time-of-possession is simply something that accompanies winning, not a cause of it. On Sunday, Garrett was absolutely right to pass as many times as he did. Sure, Drew Brees and the Saints were able to run more offensive plays, but so was Dallas. In any game in which a team considers themselves to be the favorite, increasing the sample size of plays also improves the probability of victory.

Two-Point Conversion

There's been some talk that the Cowboys should have gone for two once Romo hit Miles Austin in the end zone just before the end of regulation. Down 31-30, a successful two-point conversion would have all but won the game for Dallas. With so little time left on the clock, it's relatively easy to determine the "right" call in such a situation; if the odds of converting for a two-point conversion exceeded the chances of Dallas taking down the Saints in overtime, then forgoing the extra point would have been the right call.

Even with the Saints' high-powered offense, the Cowboys were probably slight favorites going into overtime; they had just scored two quick touchdowns and appeared to be a good bet to score in overtime.

However, teams have historically converted two-point conversions on just under half of their tries; since 2009, the conversion rate is 48.5 percent. Even taking into consideration that the Cowboys are an above-average offense, you probably wouldn't expect their anticipated conversion rate to exceed 55 percent. Thus, unless Garrett had a particular play in mind that he figured had a very high probability of converting, I think he made the right call to send the game to overtime.

Jonathan Bales is the founder of The DC Times. He writes for DallasCowboys.com and the New York Times. He's also the author of Fantasy Football for Smart People: How to Dominate Your Draft.

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