Governmental officials are warning the people of Southeast Texas to be prepared for cold weather, winds, snow and sleet, with ice forming on roads transforming Winter weather into a very dangerous situation.
Ice is expected to form on roadways starting Tuesday night with accompanying snow and sleet, or even "snow showers," which is snow mixed with freezing rain.
The Texas Department of Transportation's Raquel Lewis said at a Saturday news conference that road crews are out this weekend treating roads with a special brine mixture to minimize hazards in icy conditions, but it's still important for anyone who can possibly stay home to do so starting Monday night and continuing into Wednesday.
The Chevron Houston Marathon will go on as scheduled on Sunday and Monday's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Parade will too.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire warns those involved, though, to dress in layers to protect their health.
He said Houston, like all big cities, faces challenges when the weather turns hazardous, but all of the Southeast Texas emergency offices have been preparing for the coming storm and he's been working with Harris County commissioners, area mayors and emergency management services from around the state as Houston prepares.
Centerpoint, Entergy Texas and the state grid operator ERCOT have now said there will be enough electricity to get through the storm, emphasizing that it's not as hazardous a situation as the state faced in the deadly February 2021 storm.
Centerpoint's Paul Lott said at a news conference midday Saturday that his company continues to monitor the weather and is setting up staging areas at the former Astroworld site as well as in Brazoria County and another at Galveston's Moody Gardens, with about 1,200 crewmembers, including many from around the state, ready to help with storm electrical repairs beginning midday Monday.