Ahead of potential winter weather hitting Texas this weekend, counties in greater Houston are preparing for extreme cold weather and possible icy conditions.
The National Weather Service’s Houston area office forecasts southeast Texas could be hit by dangerously cold temperatures, with potentially life-threatening wind chills. Freezing rain and ice are possible from Saturday night through Monday morning.
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Houston
The city of Houston will operate 12 warming centers. According to the city’s office of emergency management, they will open starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday and “remain open until further notice.”
Here are the warming centers opening in Houston:
- Acres Homes Multi-Service Center: 6719 W. Montgomery Rd, Houston, TX 77091
- Northeast Multi-Service Center: 9720 Spaulding St, Houston, TX 77016
- Kashmere Multi-Service Center: 4802 Lockwood Dr, Houston, TX 77026
- Moody Community Center: 3725 Fulton St, Houston, TX 77009
- Fifth Ward Multi-Service Center: 4014 Market St, Houston, TX 77007
- Denver Harbor Multi-Service Center: 6402 Market St, Houston, TX 77007
- Fonde Community Center: 110 Sabine St, Houston, TX 77007
- Metropolitan Multi-Service Center: 1475 W Gray St, Houston, TX 77019
- Magnolia Multi-Service Center: 7037 Capitol St, Houston, TX 77011
- Third Ward Multi-Service Center: 3611 Ennis St, Houston, TX 77004
- Southwest Multi-Service Center: 6400 High Star Dr, Houston, TX 77074
- Sunnyside Multi-Service Center: 4410 Reed Road, Houston, TX 77051
Harris County
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said residents should plan to stay off county roadways starting at 9 p.m. on Saturday, when a major winter storm and potentially icy conditions are expected to move into the area.
She joined representatives of the Texas Department of Transportation, CenterPoint Energy and a local plumbers union during a press conference about the incoming storm on Thursday.
“Obviously, our region only faces these, if anything, once a year,” Hidalgo said. “So we’re not built for it. But we are used to flexing that muscle of getting through these emergencies and here we are again.”
While officials said that the most immediate threat of wintry conditions is expected to impact northwest Harris County over the weekend, they said they can’t rule out icy conditions in any other part of the county just yet.
Harris County has not yet provided a detailed list of warming centers across the county for the incoming storm — that information is expected to be released online in the coming days.
She also encouraged residents in Texas’ 18th Congressional District to vote in the special election runoff before Saturday to avoid the coming weather conditions. The early voting period ends Tuesday, Jan. 27, with Election Day on Jan. 31.
“We’re working very hard on our end,” Hidalgo said. “And I know folks in the community know their piece as well, so you’ll find a lot of this familiar. We’ve done it before. But of course, this emergency, like all emergencies, is unique.”
Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen said that the county is working with surrounding city leaders on preparations for the storm.
“We are putting things down to make sure the equipment can get out of the station,” she said. “We’re talking to each other about how we’re going to get critical life safety needs met, getting to hospitals, so we’re preparing.”
Residents should check batteries in their smoke detectors, practice exit routes from their home in case of an emergency and prepare home generators ahead of time, Christensen said.
Galveston County
Ahead of the cold weather this weekend, Galveston County officials are gearing up and asking those who live around the county to prepare as well.
“Hopefully, everybody still has their hurricane emergency kits that they prepared last year for hurricane season and didn’t get to use. So, they should be stocked up with water, food, things like that,” said Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of Galveston, Byron Frankland.
Frankland said the city will have additional employees on call and crews working overnight throughout the weekend, responding to any water issues like busted or leaky pipes.
He also warned homeowners who don’t live on the island full-time to prepare their vacation homes ahead of the cold weekend.
“We have quite a few on the west end that don’t live here full time, so, of course, we’re concerned with those, that people will take advantage of this time before the weather gets bad to go ahead and make those preparations,” Frankland said.
Frankland said TxDOT will start sanding the Causeway bridge, as well as the rest of the city’s elevated overpasses, beginning on Friday evening.
Here is the warming center in Galveston County:
- Texas City: Northside Baptist Church, 2801 N. Logan St. Open 24/7, providing shelter, hot meals, showers, and clothing
Dominic Anthony Walsh contributed to this report.
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