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Winter storm in Central Texas: Look back on 1 year anniversary
Texas was hit by a winter storm in February 2021 that left close to 250 people dead and had thousands of people without power for days.
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.
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One year later: Austin marks anniversary of historic winter storm
One year ago, a series of winter storms devastated Texas, causing thousands to lose power and hundreds to die.
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.
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Winter storm in Central Texas: A look back 1 year later
This time in 2021, Central Texas and the rest of the state was experiencing a historic winter storm. FOX 7 Austin's Kelly Saberi has a look back.
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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