Panther Junction in Big Bend National Park saw snow for the third time this winter/NPS

Editor's note: This corrects January numbers.

Big Bend National Park shivered along with the rest of Texas this week, receiving snow and frigid temperatures as an arctic air mass plunged through the core of the country. While power in the park was lost for a few hours Monday, things were easing back to normal Thursday.

"We got down to single digits Sunday night and lost power Monday, but only for 3-4 hours," Big Bend Superintendent Bob Krumenaker said Thursday. "It's high 20s and snowing again, so we're closing the Chisos Basin for the second time in less than a week. But overall we're in far better shape than much of Texas."

Normally, Big Bend's average daily high temperature in January is 61 degrees Fahrenheit, and the average overnight low is 37 degrees.

The cold weather the park has seen this winter hasn't slowed visitation. January visitation to the park in West Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border reached 43,740 in 2020, the second highest ever, according to the superintendent. That total reflected a 49 percent increase over January 2019, park records show. This January's numbers reached 50,298, which was 15 percent over 2020.

"We are expecting to be inundated for spring break," Krumenaker continued. "If we stay open all year, I think we'll far exceed (past annual) numbers for 2021."

Visitation numbers for 2020 have not yet been posted; 2019 marked the park's record visitation, with 463,832 visitors. Last year's total should fall well below that, as Big Bend closed for several months due to Covid-19.