Tens of Thousands Left Without Power in Texas as Winter Storm Brings Memory of Deadly 2021 Blast

Nearly 70,000 Texans were without power Thursday morning after a severe winter storm ripped through the country, grounding more than 4,800 US flights and leaving runways, as well as roads, slick with ice. More than 100 million Americans from West Texas to Maine’s northern border received weather advisories and warnings of the storm.

The storm doused the country with freezing rain and heavy snow, stretching from North Texas all the way to upstate New York. The severe weather and freezing cold left some 70,000 Texans without power early Thursday, roughly a year since the Lone Star State experienced a power crisis in February 2021 in which more than 200 people died as a result.

The winter storm has also brought sleet, snow and freezing rain to other Midwestern and Southern states. The state of Tennessee saw power outages spike to 147,228, Ohio saw numbers reaching 57,094, and in Kentucky 19,061 customers were also without power, according to Generac Power Outage Central. Heavy ice was to blame for most of these outages.

Last year, Texas faced a severe storm in February in which the state endured an extreme power crisis. Texans lost access to water, food and heat, and more than 200 people died as a result. The storm caused $130 billion in damages, and prompted disaster declarations. The cause was the state’s power grid, which couldn’t meet the sudden upswing in demand when Texans required heating for the freezing temperatures - a development that brought the state’s grid under the microscope.

North Texas weather is so bizarre! Rain last night turned into ice rain then to snow and now ice rain. Here is what I have in my area in Plano / Hebron area north of Dallas #TexasFreeze #TexasWeather #texaswinterstorm #texasstorm @weatherchannel @accuweather @CNNnewsroom @FOX4 pic.twitter.com/3ikC2OOGqM

— Diego Picon (@dpicon88) February 3, 2022

Before Thursday’s storm, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, said on Wednesday that “no one can guarantee” there won’t be power outages during the storm. The governor then gave an update to the public on Thursday morning while speaking at the Alternate State Operations Center in Austin, saying that his state had deployed a “plethora of resources” to support Texas communities during the storm.

I never pulled the trigger on getting a snow shovel. But I have a hoe!

Probably gonna need to do it again as snow is heading our way. Then Temps in the teens.#texasstorm pic.twitter.com/ENjsMS7FRT

— word girl ⚖ (@gminks) February 3, 2022

"Texas is experiencing one of the most significant ice events in decades, but we have taken unprecedented steps to ensure that our power grid continues to function reliably despite treacherous weather conditions,” Abbott said. “As we continue to face freezing temperatures, precipitation, and other dangerous elements, I urge Texans to be prepared and heed the guidance of their local officials as we all work together to keep people safe."

Flights at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport were grounded on Thursday morning due to icy runways. Roberto Ayerdis from Miami, Florida, as well as 15 others, slept on a cot at Love Field after his flight was canceled Wednesday afternoon.

Normally you can see the Dallas skyline. Taken this morning. Happy Snow Day!! #dallas #WinterStorm #snowday #dallasweather pic.twitter.com/ehYMX4aqda

— Joseph Haubert (@josephhaubert) February 3, 2022

Good morning, Texas! Outside is completely frozen 🥶#TexasFreeze #texasstorm #pixel6pro pic.twitter.com/OtUvpJwGDi

— Omar (@omaracs) February 3, 2022

“It’s been terrible,” he said. “There is no food, no showers and I don’t know when I’ll get home.”

Terminals and restaurants weren’t necessarily closed, but workers were not able to get to the airport due to slick and icy roads.

However, the number of outages on Thursday paled in comparison to the disaster Texas faced in 2021, when outages lasted for more than just a period of a few days. Michael Webber, an energy resources professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told the Washington Post that 2021’s power outage was from a “massive imbalance between supply and demand,” but that Thursday’s storm was reportedly caused by wind and ice accumulation.

“An outage for two hours- not two and a half days,” he said, referring to 2021 winter storm.

By Thursday evening, Generac Power Outage Central reported outages had been fixed for thousands of customers; however, approximately 32,747 Texas-based customers remain impacted by power outages.