San Antonio and surrounding areas are in store for an icy Thursday due to the strong arctic cold front rolling through Texas, one that has resulted in power outages affecting CPS customers and unsafe driving conditions.
Current outages
Former Public Utility Commission Chairman Arthur D’Andrea refused to retroactively lower sky-high electricity prices from outages in last month’s winter storm. Readers slam this decision and are surprised by the spat between Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
NITASHIA JOHNSON /NYT
CPS Energy was confident that there wouldn’t be any planned blackouts or weather-related outages. SAWS pumps rely on power from CPS Energy. If one goes out, the other could too.
CPS Energy CEO Rudy Garza said at a Thursday morning press conference that outages are due to high winds, tree branches and ice forming on its infrastructure. He reiterated a notice pushed on CPS Energy’s website that the outages are not due to demand on the state power grid.
MySA will track any San Antonio-area outages throughout the next few days.
Electric
Bexar County
February 3, 7:39 a.m. – There were 108 outages reported across CPS Energy’s coverage area affecting 31,032 customers, according to CPS Energy’s outage map. The area around Balcones Heights had the most concentrated customers affected at 7, 965.
February 3, 9 a.m – CPS Energy is reporting 177 outages, 69 more than the last report. However the number of affected customers has dropped to 26,985.
Comal County
February 3, 7:37 a.m. – There were 537 customers under Pedernales Electric Cooperative and CPS Energy without power, according to PowerOutage.us.
February 3, 8:58 a.m. – There were 599 customers under Pedernales Electric Cooperative and CPS Energy without power, according to PowerOutage.us. That’s an increase of 62 customers since the last report.
Guadalupe County
February 3, 7:37 a.m. – There 715 customers under Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative with out power, according to PowerOutage.us.
February 3, 8:58 a.m. – There 740 customers under Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative with out power, according to PowerOutage.us, adding 25 more customers to the outage list.
Temperatures will continue to drop across San Antonio and South Central Texas Thursday. Most locations are expected to freeze by noon, according to an early Thursday morning report from the National Weather Service. The Hill Country and potentially areas in the Austin area are likely to remain freezing until midday Saturday, while San Antonio’s temperatures may rise above freezing by midday Friday.
Heavier rain moved along the I-35 corridor from San Antonio to Austin overnight, which has resulted in flooding in some low-water crossings. The winter weather conditions means driving is hazardous and difficult in affected areas, so drivers are advised to exercise caution.
Some locations in northern Bexar County may receive between a tenth and a quarter of an inch of ice. Val Verde and Edwards counties may even see a light layer of snow, NWS says.
Hill Country roads are already seeing icy conditions due to ongoing freezing rain and sleet across the area, according to NWS. Weather forecasts indicate that freezing rain and sleet will expand southeast from the Hill Country throughout the morning and into the afternoon.
At this time, weather experts are unsure whether the overnight rain impacted the ice prevention tasks, such as laying down salt on the roads, completed ahead of the winter weather’s arrival. Drivers should practice extra caution if traveling on elevated bridges and overpasses.
Currently, all exchange ramps between Loop 1604 and 281 are closed.
Check here for a list of closures and other weather-related updates.
