Houston preparations underway for big chill, freezing temps, snow and ice
The Brief
Houston-area leaders are making preparations for the incoming extreme cold weather.
Tuesday is forecasted to bring possible snow and ice to the Greater Houston area,
Houston mayor John Whitmire says warming centers will be open beginning on Sunday for Houstonians who need to get out of the weather.
HOUSTON – Preparations are underway for the big chill and ice expected to hit Houston.
Area leaders are working hard to make sure we’re ready for the freeze.
Sounds like Sunday we’re in for a bitter cold blast that’ll stick around Monday, and you know rain, sleet and snow? Well, on Tuesday we could have all of the above with freezing temperatures.
Making cold weather preparations
What they’re saying
To protect from expected ice, CenterPoint Energy, for instance, has trimmed back 3,500 miles of trees to keep them from falling on power lines and the Texas Department of Transportation is also getting ready.
“We’re doing everything as a city to prepare for this weather that’s moving in,” says Houston Mayor John Whitmire.
“Initially we were looking at treating connector ramps, bridges over water, overpasses. Now we’re looking to treat all roadways considered high priority, the major interstates, some of the secondary highways,” explains Danny Perez with TXDOT.
“We’ll have ten warming centers open across Houston at 6 p.m. Sunday night to provide shelter and warmth for any Houstonian who needs to get out of this weather,” Mayor Whitmire adds.
“We have already been performing a series of proactive activities to prepare for this weather. Some of those activities include inspecting and testing our critical equipment, including our substations. We’re installing heaters for our devices that are important to our infrastructure in case of ice damage,” says Michelle Hundley with CenterPoint Energy.
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“What we’re initially going to do is spray with a brine spray. It’s a saltwater mix. If we need some additional treatment, we’ll do that as well. During the event, if we get to a situation where ice does accumulate, we have a rock sand mix to put on the roads,” adds Perez.
Dig deeper
“Usually snow and cold temperatures don’t really impact the electric system. However, it’s ice accumulation and some of the stronger winds that could potentially pose hazards to that infrastructure because of trees and limbs that may fall and power lines that may fall from the winds as well,” Hundley explains, and she says CenterPoint’s Outage Tracker has been upgraded and improved.
“This weather looks to be something that’s going to affect the entire area, even to the coast,” says Perez.
The Source
FOX 26 Damali Keith heard from city leaders.
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