Texas winter weather: Austin officials provide winter storm update

AUSTIN, Texas – City of Austin officials provided a winter storm update.

The National Weather Service says any ice that melts on Sunday will likely refreeze overnight, so Monday morning can still be hazardous.

Austin officials give the latest on the winter storm

City officials reiterate that people should stay off the roads. Some roads are still impassable, and crews continue to treat critical roadways.

Unfortunately, there was one death from cold exposure at 38 ½ Street and I-35.

“This sadly underscores the critically important work that’s being done with our cold weather shelters and our warming centers. I can’t stress enough the importance of staying indoors during the severe weather,” Mayor Kirk Watson said.

The city says 659 people went to shelters, and they’re adding bed capacity for Sunday night. Call 311 if you need help, and the city will take you to a shelter. 24-hour shelters are extended to Tuesday morning.

CapMetro service is still suspended and will have a delayed start on Monday, Jan. 26, at noon.

Austin Energy had minimal outages. They said outages were more from lightning than ice. However, ice weighing down tree limbs, plus wind, could still cause problems. Crews are doing damage assessments. Austin Energy says they’ve made a lot of improvements since 2023, and the brought in contract crews from outside areas to be on standby.

Austin police say they responded to 67 collisions between noon on Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday.

At the airport, there is icy slush on taxiways. There were 115 departing flights that were canceled, and 87 arriving flights were canceled as well. The airlines make those decisions, not the airport.