Austin: Texas is experiencing one of its coldest winters in decades, with temperatures expected to drop to as low as 11F (-12C) in Houston and 9F (-13C) San Antonio under a winter storm warning.
“Every part of the state of Texas will face freezing conditions. That includes all the way down to Brownsville, Texas, over the coming days,” The governor, Greg Abbott, said while issuing a disaster declaration for every county in the state on Friday.
Unlike north-east states, Texas roads are not typically laid with salt, which helps melt ice. So roads in the state are not equipped to handle ice or sleet and most cars in the state don’t have snow tires. The average temperature for February is about 48F in Houston and 43F in San Antonio, making this winter exceptionally cold.
The high-temperature Sunday was 22 degrees, which is 38 degrees below normal for Feb. 14.
It also is the coldest Valentine’s Day on record by five degrees. The previous record was set back in 1951 with highs only reaching 27 degrees.
This same year winter precipitation caused a mess and record precipitation of 0.97″. The frozen precipitation tally amounted to 3 inches with a mixture of freezing rain, sleet, and snow.
Concerns about power outages due to the high demand for energy across the state prompted officials to urge residents to conserve where possible. Raymond Villalba, 42, said living in Houston, a city with a history of significant natural disaster events like 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, has prepared him for the cold weather anomaly.
