Governor Abbott Provides Update On Texas' Severe Weather Response

AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott today provided an update on the State of Texas' response to severe winter weather conditions impacting large portions of Texas this week following a briefing at the State Operations Center in Austin. Texans in the North, West, and Central regions of the state should prepare for continued freezing cold temperatures, wind-chills, freezing rain, sleet, and icing conditions today through Thursday. Additionally, Central, East, and Southeast Texas may also be impacted by flash flooding tomorrow through Thursday.

"The State of Texas is working around the clock to keep Texans safe and warm over the course of this severe winter weather and flooding event," said Governor Abbott. "Texans are urged to remain weather-aware and stay off the roads if possible. If driving is absolutely necessary, motorists can check DriveTexas.org to receive the most up-to-date road conditions. I thank all of our emergency response personnel across the state who are braving the severe weather to keep their fellow Texans safe."

Governor Abbott was joined at the press conference by Railroad Commission of Texas Commissioner Christi Craddick, Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) Chief Nim Kidd, Texas Department of Transportation Executive Director Marc Williams, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, Public Utility Commission Chairman Peter Lake, and Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) President and CEO Pablo Vegas. During his update, the Governor urged Texas motorists, especially semi-truck drivers, to remain vigilant and avoid driving on roadways unless absolutely necessary. Governor Abbott also noted the State of Texas will have emergency response personnel available 24/7 to keep communities safe and respond to weather-related concerns.

Chairman Lake, Chairman Craddick, and Mr. Vegas also informed Texans that the state's electrical grid and natural gas supply is ready and will remain reliable over the course of this severe winter weather event. Chairman Lake reminded Texans to contact their local power providers in the event that winter weather and icing conditions cause local power outages. In addition, Mr. Vegas assured that ERCOT will be staffed around-the-clock to ensure that Texans have reliable power supply.

Yesterday, Governor Abbott directed TDEM to increase the readiness level of the State Operations Center (SOC) to Level II (Escalated Response) and mobilized state emergency response resources as winter weather began impacting large portions of Texas.

Texans can check road conditions at DriveTexas.org and locate cold weather resources by visiting tdem.texas.gov/disasters/january-2023-winter-storm.

For warming center information, visit tdem.texas.gov/warm.

To monitor local outages, visit puc.texas.gov/storm.