Winter storm in Central Texas: Look back on 1 year anniversary

AUSTIN, Texas - One year ago, Central Texans were experiencing a historic winter storm. 

Ice began first accumulating on February 11. Roads became dangerous and one of the worst incidents was a 133 car pileup on I-35 in Fort Worth. Six people were killed and 65 people were sent to the hospital.

On February 12, Governor Greg Abbott issued an emergency disaster declaration for all 254 counties in the state. Two days later, on Valentine's Day there was snowfall and by February 15, ERCOT had issued a declaration of emergency.

According to the National Weather Service, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport broke a 1951 record with a streak of 164 hours spent below freezing. 

Numbers compiled by the Texas Comptroller showed the massive impacts of the winter storm. Two out of three Texans lost power at some point between February 14 and February 20. Almost half, 49%, lost water and about 250 people died. Texans later learned that the electricity grid narrowly missed a catastrophic failure meaning that the entire state was reportedly minutes from experiencing a total blackout. Still many were left without power for days and for some, weeks.

The financial impact to the state was an estimated $80 to $130 billion.

Following the winter storms, state leaders say the gird has been improved and reinforced in case of another large freeze event. 

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