Texas Winter Storm: Seeking Heat as Falling Temperatures Hurt Dealers and Cellular Services

Texas Winter Storm: Seeking Heat as Falling Temperatures Hurt Dealers and Cellular Services

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The cold is believed to have contributed to at least three deaths in the Houston area alone, said the police. This includes a woman and a girl who died of carbon monoxide poisoning after a car ran in his garage to create heat due to a power outage, Houston police said Tuesday morning.
The record freeze that involves much of the United States is not over. Here's what to expect next

The treacherous conditions have led to more than 550 car accidents in the area since Sunday, said Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.

“Our roads are still very cold. Avoid traveling unless absolutely necessary”, Acevedo said Tuesday on Twitter.
Texas Governor Gregg Abbott said the ability of some utilities to generate energy has been frozen – including natural gas and coal generators. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, a network operator that controls about 90% of the state’s electrical load, said that intentional power blackouts will occur in parts of the state to balance huge demand with difficult supplies.
The cell towers in Fort Bend County, southwest of Houston, had generators freezing, running out of fuel or both, interrupting service in parts of the county, County Judge KP George wrote in Twitter.
“Conditions are deteriorating on all roads. The roads are impassable. Don’t travel. Stay where you are,” George tweeted on Tuesday.
A truck crosses the frozen roads in Houston on Monday, February 15.
Temperatures are expected to drop below zero throughout Tuesday in almost the northern half of the state, and could reach just above in Houston and San Antonio, according to a forecast by the National Weather Service.
Although snow has fallen across much of Texas, more snow and ice is expected for much of the state Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday night as part of a larger storm system.
These U.S. cities had the coldest morning in decades - with some reaching record levels of all time

Up to 15 inches more snow can fall in the Dallas / Fort Worth area, while freezing rain forecast for Austin, San Antonio and Houston.

The cold climate has led to widespread power cuts in more than a dozen other states. Further disruptions may occur, including in Nebraska, where a utility in Hastings asked residents on Tuesday to prepare for continuous blackouts to deal with “unprecedented energy demand”.
Southwest Power Pool, which manages grid operations in northern Texas and 16 other states, said on Monday that it had asked member utilities to implement continuous blackouts.

Counting on fireplaces and generators

Barbara Martinez has a mission on Tuesday that she would not normally do: find more wood for the fireplace that is the only source of heat for her home in a cold climate.

Her home in Houston’s Jersey Village suburb has been largely without power since Sunday at 3 am, she told CNN Tuesday morning.

She, her elderly parents, and her two dogs are huddled in a room with a fireplace.

“We have several layers of clothing and it is cold,” said Martinez. “We have used our cars to charge phones, and the signal here is almost impossible to use.”

“We hope the power will return soon because we are running out of wood,” she said. “My goal today is to find more firewood.”

A fireplace is the only source of heat for Barbara Martinez at her home in a Houston suburb.

In the Fort Worth suburb of Watauga, Elijah Dorminy’s family depends on their generator to survive the deadly cold – and he fears that soon this is not an option.

Dorminy, his wife and their four children were worried about what would happen when they needed to refill the generator with gas. Only one gas station still had fuel in Watauga, Dorminy told CNN on Monday night.

“Pray for us, this is going to be difficult,” he told CNN.

Water cut in Abilene

The city of Abilene, Texas, said it was forced to shut down the water service on Monday night because of a power outage at three water treatment plants.

The city of about 120,000 is located about 150 miles west of Fort Worth.

“It is not known exactly when the energy and the subsequent water service will be returned to Abilene’s water customers,” says a statement from city officials.

Frozen wind turbines contribute to power blackouts across Texas

When service is restored, a boiling water warning will go into effect, and customers must bring the water to a vigorous boil for at least two minutes before consumption, according to the statement.

Texans with electricity are asked to conserve as much as possible in an effort to ease demand on the state’s electricity grid and help restore service, “according to the city statement.

Fort Worth extended a boiling water notice to residents in the northern half of the city. Power outages have affected their ability to treat and move water to customers, according to the city.

The largest school district in the state closes

Several school districts in the state have announced that classes – face-to-face and virtual – will be canceled due to the weather.

The Houston Independent School District, the largest in the state, will be closed on Tuesday due to freezing weather, according to a message on the district’s website.

To the north, the The Dallas Independent School District, as well as the independent school districts of Arlington and Fort Worth, will also be closed on Tuesday, according to statements on the district’s websites.

Fort Worth closes until Wednesday, while Dallas schools are closed until Thursday.

Covid-19 vaccines and consultations at risk

The storm complicated Covid-19 vaccinations, causing consultations to be delayed and threatening supplies.

No first-dose vaccine is being sent to the Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District on Monday and Tuesday due to the winter weather, according to a city statement.
San Antonio postponed vaccination appointments scheduled for Tuesday at the Alamodome stadium to Saturday, according to a city statement.
Cities and states begin to delay delivery of Covid-19 vaccine because of winter storms

“With the current icy conditions that are expected to remain until at least tomorrow, we want to ensure the safety of the public. We also want to remind the public, who may be concerned about the small delay of their second dose, that we are still within the CDC guidelines to ensure that the vaccine still works without problems, “the statement said.

After electricity was lost in the Harris County Department of Public Health building and backup generators failed, authorities had to rush to allocate and save 8,400 vaccines before they went wrong, said Harris County Judge Lena Hidalgo, on Monday.

Harris County officials chose Houston’s Ben Taub, Lyndon B. Johnson and Methodist hospitals, as well as Rice University and the Harris County jail as the places to receive the vaccine overnight, said Hidalgo.

CNN’s Alisha Ebrahimji, Keith Allen, Gregory Lemos, Carma Hassan, Amanda Jackson, Ed Lavandera, Rebekah Riess and Amir Vera contributed to this report.

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