With an Arctic freeze on the way, Mayor John Whitmire Sunday night issued a plea to prepare for a rough few days and to stay off the roads starting late Monday.
“I’ve been convinced that we are about to experience a very serious and dangerous weather episode,” Whitmire said. “We’ve been preparing since Thursday for the intense temperature but now we’ve learned there will be precipitation.
“Houstonians can expect to wake up Tuesday morning to icy conditions, several inches of snow, rain,” said Whitmire. He said this was expected to continue into Wednesday.
Warming centers opened Sunday night and are expected to stay open until Thursday by which time temperatures are expected to rise to normal for Houston in the winter. Whitmire said the city’s animal shelter BARC would be at the warming centers to assist with pets.
The annual MLK parades were expected to go on beginning Monday morning.
“We’re doing everything we can as a city to prepare for this winter storm. We will be here to keep you safe and respond to emergencies, but we need your help,” Whitmire said. “We need to limit our activity starting [Monday] evening.”
The Houston Airport System had already announced there will be no flights in or out of George Bush Intercontinental or Hobby airports on Tuesday because of the expected weather. The METRO bus system will suspend services beginning at 9 p.m. Monday. The rail system will run during this time,
Municipal courts are closed Tuesday and a decision will be made that day whether the closure will continue Wednesday.
Most school districts, including HISD, announced they are closing Tuesday and Wednesday.
Even though many roadways are being treated, that doesn’t mean they won’t freeze, a Public Works representative said. “As the weather comes in and you see things on the ground, don’t let our pretreatment of that area fool you into thinking that makes it safe. Stay off the road,” explaining that those areas can still freeze.
