KXAN’s First Warning Weather Team anticipates Tuesday evening will bring the coldest air of the season. Areas of Central Texas will see rain, with the rain forecasted to end before midnight.
“Today is a stereotypical example of how weather can change dramatically in the state of Texas,” Abbott said.
While the brunt of the winter weather is not expected to start on Monday, Abbott said they held this press conference today because the cold snap is just part of what the state has to deal with in the next 48 hours.
“So many regions in the state, (it) seems like the weather’s just fine,” Abbott said. “If people aren’t paying attention they’re going to be shocked by what’s happening in the next few hours — the next few days.”
During the press conference, Abbott talked about fire-based concerns in the West Texas region, emphasizing the Division of Emergency Management’s preparations.
“The state is fully prepared for whatever type of fire might come up,” Abbott said. “They have about 10 or so planes that are ready to respond… candidly I think we’re going to be overprepared to deal with whatever may occur.”
He also said storm concerns are bringing heavy rain to the east and southeast Texas regions that could potentially lead to flooding in certain areas.
In North Texas, he said low temperatures are of main concern.
“Extreme cold in north and northwest Texas should begin on Tuesday morning. At that time, some wind chill may be as low as zero or even minus zero,” Abbott said.
Abbott said one of the key points to be aware of ahead of this winter weather is that “temperatures may be colder than what most Texans have experienced.”
Texas Department of Transportation Executive Director Marc Williams recommends motorists avoid travel if possible. He said the department is in a state of preparation and readiness but motorists should be aware of all risks. “Slow down and avoid high water,” Williams said.
For information on road conditions or closures in your area visit Drivetx.com.
Shortly after the press conference, ERCOT issued a weather watch for Wednesday through Friday, “due to forecasted cold weather from across the ERCOT region, higher electrical demand, and the potential for lower reserves.” However, their declaration also said grid conditions are expected to be normal, something Abbott echoed.
“The power grid has never been stronger than it’s is now. The power grid is more prepared, more stable and more resilient than it’s ever been,” Abbott said. “The power grid that we have today is completely different than we had four years ago… the power grid, thanks to the almost 20 laws I signed, has never been more prepared for a winter storm like this.”
Public Utility Commission Chair Thomas Gleeson said there were no concerns to generators regarding this winter weather. He said if there is an outage that is local in nature, it is best to contact your transmission distribution utility. That information can be found at Puc.texas.gov under the storm resource tab.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO Pablo Vegas said ERCOT is in planning and prep mode. They expect to have “adequate supply to meet demand during this weather event,” he said.
Vegas said ERCOT has already done 300 inspections of supply resources and more than 150 in transmission service. Vegas said he expects any outages to likely be local in nature.
As of Monday, there are little to no issues with ice to be expected, according to the First Warning Weather Team.
Abbott was joined by:
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