This weekend’s winter weather in Houston brings cold and light ice, but it’s not a repeat of the severe 2021 ice storm. Infrastructure and conditions are much improved.
Voters line up outside the Rosenberg Annex as early voting begins in Texas on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, in Rosenberg. Lawsuit seeks emergency extension of early voting after weather closures in Congressional District 18No description available CenterPoint Energy releases more than 500 workers to help support restoration efforts in other statesThis weekend’s winter weather will bring cold and some light ice potential to Houston , but we’re in a much better position and infrastructure than 2021.
This is the number one question that I’ve been answering since we first saw hints of a winter storm this coming weekend: Will this be a repeat of the crippling ice storm of 2021? The short answer is NO, it will not. The ice storm of 2021 was a perfect storm of extreme cold, widespread ice, and freezing temperatures that lingered for days — overwhelming our energy infrastructure that simply wasn’t built for that kind of prolonged stress.It’s natural to think back to 2021 anytime winter weather shows up in Houston, but this weekend’s forecast is shaping up very differently. Look at the graphic below, it shows the 7 days of sub-freezing temperatures starting on Valentine’s Day in 2021 and lasting through the end of the weekend for the entire week.That’s a large part of why we froze and saw crippling conditions. The ground was well frozen and we could not thaw out once the snow and ice arrived. This time, the cold is expected to be shorter-lived, moisture looks more limited, and temperatures should recover faster, which significantly lowers the risk of widespread icing and long-term impacts.On top of that, the power grid and local agencies like CenterPoint and Entergy have spent the past few years hardening systems, adding safeguards, and improving communication to prevent the kind of cascading failures we saw during the storm in 2021.The one fly in the ointment this week is the bitterly cold air that is headed here once the storm has passed. Even if SE Texas doesn’t get the higher end of ice, which it is starting to look like it will, any leftover wet roads will likely glaze over for a slippery and icy Monday morning.The difference from 2021 is that we will likely only be below freezing for about 30-36 hours and the ground has been VERY warm as temps have been consistently sitting in the 60s and low 70s for a number of days ahead of this system.Bottom line: this weekend may bring inconveniences and cold conditions, but the setup just doesn’t match the historic and long-lasting event we experienced in 2021.
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