Governor Greg Abbott activated state emergency response resources ahead of potential winter weather, which is expected across the state beginning Thursday.
According to the National Weather Service, an arctic cold front is expected to bring dangerously cold temperatures and wind-chills to the state through the early part of next week. Additionally, a storm system is expected to move through the state, bringing the possibility of freezing rain, sleet, and snow that could create hazardous travel conditions into the weekend and cause impacts to infrastructure. Areas most at risk of wintry weather are northwest, north, and northeast Texas. Freezing rain and sleet are more likely to impact areas across west, central, south-central, east, and southeast Texas. Cold rain is expected for areas in deep south Texas and the Rio Grande Valley.
“ERCOT will continue to deploy all available resources to manage the grid reliability and coordinate closely with the Public Utility Commission, generation providers, and transmission utilities,” the agency said in a statement. ERCOT issued an Operating Condition Notice for Saturday and Sunday due to the possibility for the combination of freezing temperatures and precipitation. ERCOT statements address systemwide supply conditions; please continue to monitor your local electric provider for operational updates and sign up here for notices when ERCOT is requesting consumer conservation.
Real time grid and market conditions can be monitored at ERCOT’s Grid and Market Conditions webpage. ERCOT has indicated that significant weather is forecasted, which could create high demand and the potential for lower levels of reserves.
Road conditions can be checked at DriveTexas.org, while other winter weather safety tips can be found at TexasReady.gov. General preparedness information can be found at tdem.texas.gov/prepare.
The Governor’s full press release can be found here.
