AUSTIN, Texas — With freezing temperatures and winter weather heading for the Lone Star State, city and state leaders are finalizing preparations before the wintry weather moves in.
Freezing rain, sleet and snow are expected to push into West Texas on Wednesday afternoon and continue west across West Central, North and northeast Texas through Friday morning.
Gov. Greg Abbott said areas from West Texas to northern Hill Country could see travel impacts from snow and ice on the roads. The Dallas-Fort Worth area and northeast Texas are expected to see the most snow from the winter weather system.
“The models for this particular storm have been varied as to how much rain or snow we’re going to get and what the temperature will be,” Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said. “What the meteorologists tell us is just 1 or 2 degrees in temperature difference could be the difference between snow and no snow.”
Preparations across Texas
Gov. Abbott met with several state agencies, including TxDOT, ERCOT and the Texas Division of Emergency Management, on Wednesday morning to discuss the upcoming winter weather.
A dozen agencies are deployed to help during the winter weather. TxDOT said more than 2,000 employees are treating roads and bridges across the state with brine, a mixture of water and salt. They have moved workers from southern Texas and pre-positioned them in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and at the Interstate 10 and Intestate 20 interchange because state leaders said that’s where the current forecast shows the biggest threat for snow.
“We’ve learned a lot over the past 15-20 years on how better to treat the roadways in these conditions,” Texas Department of Transportation Deputy Executive Director Brian Barth said. “We have more equipment. We have them staged across the state more strategically, and they’re all staged and ready to go for this event.”
Abbott stressed that Texans should be careful if they do hit the roadways because of the icy or snowy conditions.
“We’re not used to driving in conditions like this. Be careful. Be cautious. Make sure that you’re protecting your own life. If you do get out on the road, drive safely,” he said. “If you don’t need to be out on the road, if you’re one of the parts of the state that’s going to have icy roads, stay home for the next day or so.”
Power concerns
Abbott said the power grid looks strong and he expects it to hold comfortably through this winter weather. If power is knocked out, he expects it will likely be because of other factors.
“Freezing rain on power lines that could cause downed power lines or cause trees and tree limbs and things like that to fall, to cause a power line to go down,” he said. “If there is a loss of power, it’s not it’s not going to be because of the power grid. It’s going to be because of some impact on a local power line that your local power provider is going to be responsible for addressing.”
During a press conference on Wednesday, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vega and Public Utility Commission Chair Thomas Gleeson said they expect to have adequate power to get through an event.
“The grid is well positioned to perform during this winter weather event. The work that has been done over the past four years has made a difference in helping to ensure that,” Gleeson said. “Over the last week and throughout the whole winter, the generating community, transmission and distribution community has done all the work necessary to weatherize and winterize all of their facilities. They’ve taken extra measures to ensure that any vegetation that needs to be cut back and managed has been done so that ice on trees will have a minimal impact on their infrastructure.”
Austin Energy Deputy General Manager Stuart Reilly said crews are on call and ready to respond to outages.
“We need to prepare for all types of events that could occur. We are not anticipating a lack of adequate power generation, and ERCOT is not forecasting an inadequate supply,” Reilly said. “We are also not anticipating significant ice accumulation, but we must be ready.”
Preparations in Austin
Austin city leaders are making their final preparations for the cold weather. On Wednesday afternoon, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and leaders from multiple local agencies held a press conference to update Central Texans on their preparations.
They reminded everyone that as much as they prepare, everyone should be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
“When you have bad weather events, not everything is going to be perfect,” Mayor Watson said. “Not everything is going to be without problems, and there will be unexpected things happen that we’re unable to control.”
He encouraged people to sign up for emergency notifications through WarnCentralTexas.org or download the free app to get updates, news and resources to prepare for winter weather.
“If you haven’t already begun, the time to start preparing is now,” Travis County Judge Andy Brown said. “Please make sure to review how to keep your house warm, how to travel safely, how to prepare for power outages should they occur and how to work and play outside in the cold, if necessary. A little attention now will help reduce injuries and property damage for residents, pets, people and plants over the winter season. Everyone is at risk from the dangers of extreme cold, but newborns, elderly, folks with chronic illnesses, outdoor workers and the unhoused are more vulnerable than most people.”
With the expected rain and cold temperatures, the city is transitioning the shelters to 24 hours from Wednesday night through Friday morning.
Austin’s cold weather shelters are open each night throughout this week. They’re available for anyone who needs a warm place to stay. Registration will be open at the One Texas Center on Barton Springs Road from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Anyone who goes there will be taken to an overnight shelter.
The shelters have been open every night since Sunday and, according to the city, have accommodated hundreds of people each night.
You can get information about access and activation by calling the cold weather shelter hotline at 512-972-5055.
There is also an interactive map of warming centers available at austintexas.gov/alerts. Texans are encouraged to call 211 or visit tdem.texas.gov/warm to find their closest warming center.
The Austin Travis County Emergency Operations Center has been activated in response to the winter weather. Throughout the rest of the week, officials will use it to coordinate the response of the city, county, and local agencies.
County leaders say they are checking in with the 21 smaller cities and towns in Travis County to ensure they have everything they need.
“For those residents in the unincorporated parts of Travis County, we encourage you to start preparing your properties, especially in the western portions of Travis County, where the potential for freezing rain is most prominent,” Travis County Office of Emergency Management Chief Emergency Management Coordinator Eric Carter said.
While Austin leaders do not anticipate any freezing rain, sleet or ice, they are keeping a close eye on the roads. They are evaluating whether they need to pre-treat the roads and monitor the conditions.
“Our current plan is for our road crews to be on standby again Wednesday night through Thursday to be able to deploy anti-icing materials as necessary and as conditions may warrant,” Transportation and Public Works Director Richard Mendoza said.
The big message from both state and local leaders was to be prepared because things can change. Being weather aware is important.
Gov. Abbott said he does not believe this winter weather will hinder the Cotton Bowl between Texas and Ohio State on Friday. He encouraged fans heading to the Dallas area for the game to take their time and be extra careful on the roads.