By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-06 21:40:11 | Updated at 2025-01-10 21:10:33
3 days ago
A major winter storm could dump up to four inches of snow and paralyze Texas, leaving many traumatized locals with awful memories of the 2021 mega freeze that left most of the state without power for weeks, killing hundreds.
Already, one person has died due to the frigid conditions in the Lone Star State.
Authorities discovered a man's frozen body near a covered bus stop in Houston's Second Ward on N. Cesar Chavez near Canal Street around 7:30 a.m. Monday, according to KPRC.
The man's passing is believed to be the first death related to this week's polar vortex, which will bring high temperatures in the 30s and lows in the 20 in a state unaccustomed to sub-freezing conditions.
An area from Dallas stretching to Austin is expected to get snow starting on Thursday.
The state's electrical grid manager has issued a 'weather watch' warning for the entire week, with snow arriving as early as Thursday and lasting into Friday.
While the Electric Reliability Council of Texas or ERCOT clarified that the power grid is expected to hold during this storm, reserves could be 'lower' than regular.
'Grid conditions are expected to be normal. A Weather Watch is not a call for conservation,' ERCOT posted to social media Monday.
Snow is forecast in huge swathes of Texas on Thursday and Friday this week
Subzero temperatures gripped Texas on Feb. 18, 2021 as power was restored to more homes overnight throughout the state. Photo: Workers pick away at the ice in a frozen fountain at the Richardson Civic Center just north of Dallas
X, formerly called Twitter, users immediately responded with criticism and skepticism after the February 2021 winter storm left nearly the entire state without power in freezing temps due to lack of planning and incompetence by ERCOT.
'I don't trust you, I remember February 2021,' replied @wwg248.
'What exactly is the problem that needs to be remedied in this situation??? You post this every season! At some point, you need to be perfectly capable of providing uninterrupted service to Texans. Especially during high usage, which is not uncommon in this State,' vented @Jimssecondacct.
'This is your seasonal “Lower Your Expectations Alert” no worries…they are already low,' blasted @RickAlaniz99.
Ahead of the 2021 catastrophic ice storm that nearly collapsed the Texas electrical grid, ERCOT had urged Texans to conserve energy and not run their heaters to avoid rolling black outs.
Despite residents heeding calls for conservation, the entire state which operates on its own power grid separate from the rest of the country was left in the dark-- with the exception of El Paso, which is part of the Western US power grid.
At least 246 people died to hypothermia, with some people dying at the onset of the storm, and other bodies being found weeks later.
However, the actual death toll could have been closer to 700, reported Buzzfeed as part of its own analysis of deaths.
A tractor trailer is stuck in the slick ice and snow on State Highway 195 on February 18, 2021 in Killeen, Texas. Winter storm Uri has brought historic cold weather and power outages to Texas as storms have swept across 26 states with a mix of freezing temperatures and precipitation
In this image from video, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, walks to check in for his flight back to the U.S., at Cancun International Airport in Cancun, Mexico, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021
This is the same storm that earned US Sen. Ted Cruz the name Cancun Cruz, as the senator fled his home in Houston for a beach getaway while his constituents were left suffering and literally dying.
While improvements, like adding weather resiliency to the electrical grid have been made since 2021, many still don't trust the system.
Additionally, Dallas, which is expected to get the most snow and ice mixture than anywhere else in the state, also shut down in 2011 as it was hosting the Super Bowl.
Seven workers at the Cowboy's AT&T Stadium were hurt after huge chunks of ice fell from the roof.
During that squall, just five inches of snow over three days brought the fourth largest metroplex in the nation to its knees-- costing the city $611 million in revenue expected for Super Bowl events.
'Just a PSA to anyone coming to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl on Friday: the weather in this city is going to be an absolute s--t show.
'They are already talking about the chance of a ton of snow on Thursday/Friday and this city doesn't do well with snow. Something to look out for,' tweeted @AriWasserman.
