With the official first day of winter three weeks away, Central Texas got a sample of cold but relatively dry weather Thursday, with more due into the next week.

Area law enforcement agencies and emergency responders reported only a few minor accidents, none directly attributed to weather conditions.

The National Weather Service in Fort Worth put the North Texas area - which stretches from Sherman to Cameron - under a freeze warning from 6 p.m. Thursday to 10 a.m. today. The temperature in Temple was supposed to drop to 23 degrees by this morning and only rise as high as 53 degrees today.

Temple recorded 0.40 of an inch of rain accompanying the cold front, with most of that falling in the wee hours of Thursday morning. The temperature stayed above freezing until about 6:35 a.m. in the Temple area, the NWS reported.

A generally northwest wind blew throughout the day, creating a possible wildfire danger, as the Texas Forest Service advised earlier in the week. Grasses and trees have had time to dry and cure in the several weeks of unseasonably warm weather, said Brad Smith, fire behavior analyst.

To avert wildfires, the Texas Forest Service offers these tips:

- Don