With a winter storm forecast to push temperatures in the Houston area below freezing starting Saturday night and potentially lasting through Monday, Mayor John Whitmire urged residents to take precautions and prepare ahead of time.
Whitmire asked residents to be settled and off the roads no later than midnight Saturday, stressing the seriousness of the approaching weather system.
He noted that 135 Texas counties have already been declared disaster areas following earlier winter weather and warned that similar conditions are expected to reach Houston.
“The conditions that brought about those declarations are headed this way,” Whitmire said, urging residents to remain cautious and prepared as temperatures drop.
The National Weather Service said a winter storm warning and an extreme cold warning will take effect Saturday evening across the greater Houston area. Forecasts call for sub-freezing temperatures and dangerously low wind chills, particularly in areas north of Interstate 10.
Temperatures are expected to begin falling Saturday evening, with Houston forecast to reach a low of 31 degrees overnight. Even colder conditions are anticipated Sunday and Monday nights, with lows near 20 degrees. Areas north of I-10 could experience even lower temperatures.
City officials said roadways are currently undergoing treatment in preparation for icy conditions. Houston plans to open 12 warming centers starting at 5 p.m. Saturday. Nine of those locations will have backup generators, and all centers are expected to remain open until Tuesday morning.
Whitmire said no one seeking shelter would be turned away and emphasized that immigration status would not be checked at warming centers.
Brian Mason, director of the Houston Office of Emergency Management, said three warming centers without generators have been designated as priority locations for CenterPoint Energy. He said this designation places them at the top of the list for power restoration in the event of outages.
City officials said widespread power outages are not expected, though isolated outages may occur due to ice accumulation or storm-related damage. CenterPoint Energy will have crews on standby throughout the weekend to address any service interruptions.
Mason said the Office of Emergency Management is currently operating at Level 3, indicating enhanced awareness. The agency plans to elevate to Level 2, or high preparedness, starting Saturday evening.
He said emergency partners from city, county, and state agencies will be staffing the Emergency Operations Center throughout the cold weather event to coordinate response efforts.
Residents can receive city alerts and emergency updates through the AlertHouston system by texting “alerthouston” to 888777.
Houston METRO announced it will suspend most services beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday, with rail service continuing to operate. On Sunday, only METRO rail and METRO Lift services will remain available. METRO Lift will provide emergency transportation to warming centers.
City officials also advised residents not to drip faucets, citing concerns about added strain on the city’s water infrastructure that could trigger a boil notice. Instead, residents are encouraged to wrap or drain exposed pipes to prevent freezing.
Whitmire said another press briefing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sunday to provide updated information as conditions evolve.
