Winter weather: Austin & Travis County prepare for next storm
Austin & Travis Co. officials talk winter weather
Three years ago a major winter storm hit Austin and another followed in 2023. Both caused major problems and today there was an exercise to see if first responders and the city and county are ready for the next big storm. FOX's Rudy Koski has details.
AUSTIN, Texas - Dark gray rain clouds hung over the Austin skyline Wednesday. At the Long Center as mist rose above an ice rink that’s part of a man-made winter wonderland being assembled. Not far away from that work, a discussion was underway about preparing for a real weather event. It’s the result of a promise Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said he made following the winter storm in 2023.
"It's that time of year where we start thinking about this in earnest and we want everyone to be thinking about it at the same time," said Mayor Watson.
A tabletop Weather Preparedness Exercise was held which provided anopportunity for Austin and Travis County officials to walk through several different disaster plans. Mayor Watson said he was pleased with what he saw, but he also noted community communications could still use some work.
"While I wouldn't list as a failure, I would list as something we're always seeking to improve and therefore probably always looking at that is something that how do you make it a strength," said Mayor Watson.
What has been strengthen will help keep faucets flowing. We learned at several critical locations, water treatment plants and pump stations, Austin Water has installed backup generators. Austin Water’s Assistant Director for Business Services, Anna Bryan-Borja, also said weather prep supplies are being made available to customers.
"We'd like to invite everyone to stop by a city of Austin Utility Customer Service Center next week to pick up some free supplies. We'll be giving out free water valve, shut off keys, hose, bib covers, and handy winter tips as long as supplies last. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, December 10th at the North Payment Center and Wednesday, December 11th at the South Payment Center," said Bryan-Borja.
Tree trimming operations continue by crews with Austin Energy. FOX7 was provided the following information about that work;
- There are 304 circuits in AE’s tree-trimming rotation
- 117 circuits have been trimmed to standard
- Working on 13 circuits to bring up to standard
- Work on 4 circuits planned for 2025.
Austin Energy is cutting back tree limbs to industry standards and has made significant progress. A major icing can still cause trees to collapse on power lines which is why it was recommended to have enough supplies at your home for at 7 days. Bob Kahn, Austin Energy’s General Manager, said crews have also started insulating and securing power lines. Kahn admitted it will take more time to complete all the work but was confident in what’s been done.
"And I'll say this. We are ready. We're prepared," said Kahn.
Being ready includes emergency warming shelters. A new policy in Austin will activate the shelters when the temperature drops to 35 degrees, which is up from freezing being the trigger point. Travis County has 6 community centers that can be used as shelters.
Road clearing coordination between state and local crews was a lingering problem in 2021. Reinder Hershaw, the assistant Director for Transportation and Public Works told FOX7 the city has purchased new road clearing equipment, and the department is talking with TxDOT about road clearing strategy.
One of the changes that we have had is to revamp a privatization route for our roads, critical roads and also our critical infrastructure assets that need to be maintained. Again, bridges, culverts, things that are elevated that freeze first," said Hershaw.
In response to FOX7’s additional questions about the roads and all the pre-planning, Mayor Watson said this.
"I'm going to give you the same answer, Rudy. We're not going to have perfection in a bad winter storm. And maybe we ought to follow you around so that wherever you are, it works out perfectly. But maybe that's the way to solve this problem. But that's just not going to happen. We're talking about acute weather conditions, and there's always going to be something that four years later you'll be able to ask a question. Well, I was at this intersection and that didn't work. That stuff's going to happen," said Mayor Watson.
The message to get prepared was not just for government agencies. Residents of central Texas were also urged to prepare for bad weather.
"So, start out by looking at your house, looking at your apartment, seeing what you have to keep yourself warm to travel safely, to prepare for power outages should they occur and to work and play outside in the cold. A little bit of attention now will save a lot of headaches later on when making preparations. Keep in mind, those four P's: people, pets, plants and pipes," said Travis County Judge Andy Brown.
Signing up for alerts and downloading weather tracking apps was also encouraged.
Bottom line, the time to prepare is now.
The Source: Information from reporting by FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski and the City of Austin and Travis County officials.