Houston Meteorologists: “This Will Be a Damaging Freeze”

Harris County almost avoided winter altogether — until now.

Meteorologists say it’s time to get out the winter coats, wrap the pipes when the temperature dips below freezing and potentially stay off the roads, as an arctic cold front is headed to the Bayou City this weekend.

Weather experts Jeff Lindner of the Harris County Flood Control District, Travis Herzog of ABC 13 and Eric Berger of Space City Weather say the pending freeze won’t be as bad as 2021’s Winter Storm Uri, when temperatures dropped to the teens and more than 240 Texans died.

However, they say it’s likely that there will be disruptions to power and “widespread travel impacts.”

Nathan Brownell, CenterPoint Energy’s vice president of resiliency and capital delivery, told the Houston Press on Wednesday that the utility company has been working over the past year and a half since Hurricane Beryl to “build the most resilient coastal grid in the United States.”

While this is not the first major weather event since Beryl, it’s the first winter storm that could produce freezing rain, Brownell said.

“We installed over 50,000 poles since Hurricane Beryl,” he said. “We installed bigger, stronger poles built to withstand extreme weather. We’ve been undergrounding more lines across Houston. We’ve trimmed over 7,000 miles of high-risk vegetation. We’re continuing to add more automation devices that can automatically isolate fault areas so this helps us get customers back on quicker.”

CenterPoint activated its Emergency Operations Center on Wednesday morning and is coordinating with the City of Houston, the regulatory commission in Austin and other utilities in the area, Brownell said. About 1,000 front-line employees, from call center operators to line workers, are activated and ready to respond.

Resources are being pre-positioned across 13 service centers throughout Houston, Brownell added.

“We’re making sure that, regardless of the weather that comes in, we will have resources in your neighborhood that can quickly and safely respond,” he said. “We have been calling in mutual assistance from outside the Houston area. They’re going to have the ability to replace broken poles or wire that could be down, or they could go out and trim vegetation that’s causing the outage.”

Brownell acknowledged that he can’t control the weather but said CenterPoint is committed to responding swiftly.

“We live in one of the highest-risk areas in the United States because we experience hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, wildfires and ice like we’re talking about this week,” he said. “What we can do is build a grid to minimize the number of outages and if we do have an outage, quickly and safely restore it.”

Houston Emergency Management Director Brian Mason said in Wednesday’s city council meeting that residents should expect “bone-chilling cold” and to prepare as though the conditions would be similar to the 2021 winter storm. That prompted Mayor John Whitmire to advise residents to stay home and off the roads between Saturday and Tuesday.

As always, the potential severity of the weather is ever-changing and the danger depends on where one lives and plans to travel. Lindner told Houstonians to prepare for “dangerously cold” temperatures below freezing to begin Saturday and extend through Monday, with freezing rain and ice accumulation on Saturday and Sunday.

“[The] arctic front looks to arrive either late Friday afternoon or evening across the [Houston] area with falling temperatures and onset of gusty northerly winds,” Lindner wrote on social media, adding that the freeze line is likely to advance southward Friday night or Saturday morning to an area from Columbus to Hempstead to Porter and then continue southward during the day reaching the I-10 corridor midday to mid-afternoon and the coast by early to mid-evening.

“How quickly the freezing line moves south will be very important on freezing rain probabilities and ice accumulations,” he said.

A hard freeze, meaning 24 degrees or below, is likely to hit Houston on Sunday morning with even colder temperatures into the upper 10s outside the Beltway and low- to mid-20s on the coast Monday morning.

“This will be a damaging freeze,” Lindner said. “High temperatures on Sunday will struggle to reach freezing and this may result in a duration of temperatures below freezing nearing 40 hours or longer for much of the metro Houston area and up to 72 hours for areas to the north and west. High temperatures on Monday may only reach the mid to upper 30s for a few hours.”

Southeast Texas will be on the southern edge of a “potentially catastrophic and crippling ice storm across interior Texas,” Lindner added. “North winds of 15-20 mph through the period will add additional stress to ice-coated trees and power lines and isolated power outages will be possible even down to the coast.”

Preparations for many hours of below-freezing weather should be completed by Friday afternoon.

“Travel across much of Texas north and west of Houston will become dangerous Friday night,” Lindner said.

Houston meteorologists warn that this weekend’s winter storm could prompt power outages and impede travel plans. Credit: Screenshot

Planning to go to Dallas for the weekend? Leave early on Friday before the cold front hits southeast Texas, Lindner advised. Or maybe just cancel the road trip. Berger suggested that freezing rain is likely to the west and north of Houston in Waller, Grimes, Montgomery and Liberty counties.

“I think the jury is still out on Harris County and points closest to the coast,” Berger wrote on his Space City blog on Wednesday. “However, by Saturday afternoon or early evening, this will be a distinct possibility and you should factor that into your travel plans around the area – i.e., have a contingency plan to remain in place.”

Some speculated that the Astros Fan Fest, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Daikin Park, could be canceled but it was still on as of Wednesday afternoon.

Houston ISD announced changes to its sports schedule, noting that Friday varsity basketball games would instead be played on Saturday, and Saturday games would be played on Friday. Sub-varsity games originally scheduled for Friday are canceled. Parents are asked to make sure their contact information is updated. The district will announce any further schedule changes through ParentSquare, HISD Now, HoustonISD.org and official social media platforms.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s job fair, originally planned for Saturday, is being postponed to Sunday, February 1, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

While waiting to see if weekend plans will be iced out, residents can take care of their homes, pets and plants, Berger suggested.

“When temperatures drop this low, we start to worry about pipes bursting,” the meteorologist said. “Please note that at this time we do not expect the extreme cold the region saw in February 2021, with widespread temperatures in the teens. But precautions should be taken with exposed pipes when temperatures drop into the 20s.”

Many Houstonians have been through catastrophic weather and know the drill: Bring the pets inside, cover plants, wrap the pipes, let faucets drip and check on vulnerable neighbors.

“People should limit outdoor exposure during the cold,” Lindner said. “Utilize heating sources properly to reduce the risk of fire and carbon monoxide poisoning.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that the Texas Division of Emergency Management is activating state resources ahead of the potentially severe weather.

“As temperatures could drop below freezing and regions of Texas face snow, ice and freezing rain, it is crucial that Texans remain weather-aware, check DriveTexas.org before traveling, and heed the guidance of state and local officials,” Abbott said in a press release.

The Texas Department of Transportation has deployed winter weather roadway equipment and crews will pre-treat roadways, Abbott said. The Texas National Guard will use “high-profile vehicles” and personnel to support stranded motorists. The Public Utility Commission of Texas will coordinate with utility providers and monitor power outages.

Twelve warming centers at the following locations will be activated throughout the Houston area for those who don’t have heat: