This story will be updated throughout the day with the latest coverage on the Texas winter storm, as information becomes available. To receive live updates, sign up for our Breaking News newsletter or download the Houston Chronicle mobile app.
3:02 p.m. Local aid agencies and first responders are ready for what could be high demand for bunks in local shelters, as outdoor conditions deteriorate.
Our Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) is currently visiting our homeless neighbors offering services, shelter, and blankets. If anyone needs a warming center- 16605 Air Center Blvd will open doors at 7pm tonight! take care of each other @houstonpolice pic.twitter.com/ZUCadVaDhH
— BA Lummus- Mental Health Division (@BALummus) February 3, 2022
2:55 p.m. Nobody panic, the county will stay take your money.
Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Ann Harris Bennett announced Thursday that all Tax Office locations closed at 2 pm and will reopen at 10 am Friday, weather permitting.
“Call center employees are safely working from home and are available to assist customers,” Bennett said in a release. “Additionally, a large number of employees are also working at home continuing to perform their normal operational duties. Auto registration renewals and property tax payments may be made online 24/7.”
For online payments, go to www.hctax.net
2:48 p.m. As temperatures drop across the region, officials are warning that the critical time for safety and the stability of electrical grids will start when the sun (yes, it is still up there above the clouds) sets.
While the freezing rain and temperatures remain the greatest worry, leading to some expansion of local weather warnings. officials with the National Weather Service continue to stress the severity of the pending storm is not as significant as the arctic blast that burst pipes and crippled Texas one year ago.
2:12 p.m. Wet weather is making its way across East Texas, but officials are warning that subfreezing temperatures will make travel in central and northern parts of the state difficult for days to come.
Austin police said most of the area is covered in ice, and temperatures are not expected to help melt anything until Friday.
2:00 p.m. Opinions can differ, but Houston Public Works and others are decidedly in the don’t drip camp.
While the outlook for treacherously terrible temperatures varies around the region, officials are urging everyone to take the proper precautions and make sure their health and the health of pets is paramount.
1:00 pm Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday the state power grid was holding up well amid the ongoing cold front, with about 10,000 megawatts of excess supply expected early Friday when the storm is set to peak, writes Houston Chronicle reporter Jeremy Blackman.
About 70,000 households were without power Thursday morning, mostly from downed power lines and icy local conditions. While projected peak electricity demand had risen from earlier estimates, Abbott said there should still be plenty of power to avoid a system-wide failure as happened last year.
12:45 p.m. A mix of freezing rain and sleet is falling north of Harris County, and it will slowly begin to spread south, the National Weather Service’s Houston/Galveston office said.
The coast is experiencing light rain and drizzle.
12:30 pm Starting at 2 pm, the National Weather Service will expand its winter weather advisory to the US 59 corridor, which includes most of the city of Houston. By 8 pm, this advisory will include all of Harris County and inland portions of Liberty, Galveston, Brazoria, Matagorda, and Jackson counties.
The main concerns for the greater Houston area are freezing rain and sleet. A winter weather advisory is issued for one or more of the following: snow of 3 to 5 inches in 12 hours, sleet accumulation up to 1/4 inch, freezing rain in combination with sleet and/or snow, or blowing snow.
Other parts of the state started seeing winter weather conditions earlier.
As of 7 am, a winter storm warning (more severe than an advisory) was in effect for Burleson, Brazos, Madison, and Houston counties where over an eighth of an inch of ice accumulation was expected.
The Dallas/Fort Worth area was reporting treacherous road conditions.
The Austin/San Antonio area reported freezing rain.
12:00 pm Does today’s forecast make you uneasy? You’re not alone.
It’s common for people who’ve lived through traumatic events to recall these emotions — especially when that event’s anniversary approaches, John Vincent, professor of psychology at the University of Houston and director of the doctoral program in clinical psychology, previously told the Houston Chronicle.
“When the next year rolls around and it’s a similar time, you remember what that felt like,” he said.
Houston Chronicle reporter Hannah Dellinger shared her experience on Twitter.
11:45 a.m. The National Weather Service needs your help in measuring ice buildup.
“As we go through this freezing rain and sleet event it will greatly help us to know how much ice accretion you get in your area (if any),” Dan Reilly, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Houston/Galveston office, said in an email.
The below graphic can help you take measurements. It’s also helpful to provide a general description, such as if there are icy spots on sidewalks or if tree branches are coated in ice. This information can be submitted using the following form: https://forms.gle/qwqXP9hFVBrnesYt9
The National Weather Service’s Houston/Galveston office shared this graphic for measuring ice accretion.
National Weather Service’s Houston/Galveston office11:30 a.m. As of Thursday morning, neither the city of Houston nor Harris County had plans to open warming shelters.
However, the National Association of Christian Churches Disaster Relief Services and Impact Houston Church of Christ are opening two locations — 16605 Air Center Boulevard and 51 Melbourne — from 7 pm Thursday through Sunday so that people could get warm.
Transportation to these locations will be provided. The pickup location is at the downtown library at 7 pm More information is available by calling 323-825-1376.
–RA Schuetz
11:15 a.m. Local officials are monitoring the roads and have teams in place should conditions get icy. The Texas Department of Transportation recommended caution when driving to other parts of the state.
Joe Stinebaker, spokesman for Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle, said the entire road and bridge department is on standby. Their operations will start planning up around 10 pm
“We have two dozen crew members starting at 10 pm tonight patrolling the precinct with spreader trucks and equipment,” Stinebaker said. “Our road and bridge guy says we don’t pre-treat any roads or bridges because it doesn’t really work. But yeah, we are on full bore as of 10 pm”
Houston Public Works also has crews and salt spreaders on standby if the Houston Police Department or Houston Fire Department report dangerous roadway conditions. It is not pre-treating roads because rain is expected to wash away the treatment. Spokesperson Erin Jones said forecasts suggest the ground should be warm enough to prevent anything from sticking.
-Dug Begley
Get the latest weather updates from the Houston Chronicle and ABC13 Houston. Video: Houston Chronicle ABC13 Houston
8 a.m.: Wet conditions in the Houston area are expected throughout Thursday as a winter storm makes its way through southeast Texas, according to the National Weather Service.
Houstonians should expect wet conditions and freezing temperatures throughout the day as thunderstorms roll through the region with a 70 percent chance of precipitation. Although cold, the NWS said this storm will likely not bring similar conditions to last year’s freeze.
An updated winter weather advisory and a new wind chill advisory will be in effect starting Thursday afternoon to include all of Harris County and some coastal areas, according to the National Weather Service.
Both the updated and new advisories were expanded to inland portions of Liberty, Galveston, Brazoria, Matagorda and Jackson counties. The extended winter weather advisory will begin at 2 pm Thursday and continue through noon Friday and the wind chill advisory will begin at 6 pm Thursday and continue to 9 am Friday, per the weather service.
As temperatures drop into the 20s Thursday night with wind chill expected in the teens, the forecast shows a chance for freezing rain but with little or no ice accumulation expected before temperatures rise into the 40s Friday, the NWS added.
Some school districts on Wednesday announced scheduling changes for Thursday. Rebecca Hennes and Hannah Dellinger have the full list here.
-Joel Umanzor
www.houstonchronicle.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism