Texas in State of Emergency From Snowstorm

Every county in Texas has declared a state of emergency over a massive snowstorm currently bringing up to a foot of snow, ice, and frigid temperatures throughout the Southwest.

Temperatures are expected to remain below freezing throughout the week, and the state is braced for another storm on Wednesday, Houston’s ABC 13 reported.

February of 2021 is expected to be Texas’s coldest February in 122 years. Residents are warned to take precautions when traveling, if they have to travel.

The temperatures were so low residents were at risk of losing running water as pipes froze.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas initiated rotating outages to ease overall system outages, which meant hundreds of thousands at a time endured several hours without power.

Rabbi Yaakov Rich, Rav of Congregation Toras Chaim, told Hamodia on Monday morning, “In our neighborhood, we got about 5 inches of snow overnight. But today it is very windy, with a lot of drifting. As Texas does not have snow plows, all the snow on the roads becomes packed down into ice, resulting in very dangerous driving. The temperature is around 6 F, which broke previous low records. When you add the wind chill, it feels like -15 F, and it is very, very cold. In addition, there are widespread power outages across the state, and the electric company cannot keep up with the demand. They are purposely cycling the power on and off in different neighborhoods. so as not to strain the power grid. It’s a good thing we have two fireplaces!”

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smarcus@hamodia.com