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Crews in Austin metro area work to restore power, prepare for cold
Thousands woke up Friday morning in the dark. Utility crews have spent all day working to restore power while continuing to prepare for more storms.
AUSTIN, Texas - Repair crews worked throughout Friday trying to restore power across the Austin metro area.
A team from Pedernales Electric arrived in a neighborhood near the intersection of El Salado and 620, around noon Friday. The chilly residents gave the workers a warm reception.
"It’s a feeling of really good relief because the houses do what they can as insulation goes, but we are just not ready for this cold weather that came down so it’s been getting pretty cold inside the house and we are very thankful they are out here right now," said Javier Ayala.
RELATED: Arctic air, winter storms continue to lower temperatures in Austin
Trees started to break under the weight of the ice Thursday afternoon. Public works crews mobilized into strike teams. Into the early morning hours, they cut and hauled frozen limbs.
It was a long night for residents in Cedar Park. "Just sad about the trees, but I did a friend said, don’t cut them down if they're salvageable, don’t cut them down these live oaks will recover," said Cedar Park resident Laurie Randal.
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Austin Energy: Around 32,000 customers without power due to weather
Kacey Bowen has the latest on power outages across the Austin area. Austin Energy is currently reporting around 32,000 customers without power.
By mid-morning, it was estimated that 10 to 11,000 customers with Austin Energy were still out of power. The utility deployed 25 field teams in north and south Austin with the goal of getting most people back online by the early evening.
RELATED: City of Austin activates cold weather shelters as temperatures drop
"So, we have a good team doing their best, under the circumstances of this unusual weather conditions," said Luis Rivas with Austin Energy.
They know they have to work fast because another storm is coming. But Rivas could not promise all lights would be on Monday. "We are going to do our best, we are going to do our best to turn back on," said Rivas.
The coming storm is why residents in a neighborhood off of Jollyville Road are worried and also because of what Austin Energy has told them about the power in their area.
RELATED: Abbott issues disaster declaration due to severe winter weather
"It’s the communication, the communication piece, telling me it’s on and it's not, is kind of frustrating," said Northwest Austin resident Cindy Isaacson.
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Texas road crews continue to monitor driving conditions
Crews have been in place since Wednesday night treating roads ahead of and during this winter weather advisory.
FOX 7 notified Austin Energy about the miscommunication. As residents waited, they bundled in blankets and sitting in cars to stay warm. Their fear is they'll be forgotten.
RELATED: Sewer overflow in NW Austin caused by power outage at lift station
"We understand it's taking a long time to get everybody fixed, but then we are told we are already repaired, they are not going to pay attention to us and we are not repaired," said Saundra Roark.
About an hour after voicing their concerns, the residents say the power started to come back on, but it had to be rebooted several times.
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The National Weather Service says a Winter Weather Advisory for Central Texas will be issued from 6 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 13 until noon on Monday, Feb. 15. Residents in the area can expect blustery, rainy, and cold conditions across the area today.
Temperatures will remain nearly steady, with highs ranging from the lower 30s to lower 40s. North winds will be gusty from 15 to 25 mph. Some freezing rain may mix in with rain, especially across the Hill Country.
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