Texas Winter Storm Updates

Texas Tribune Staff, Colleen DeGuzman, Ayden Runnels, Alex Nguyen, Berenice Garcia and Jessica Priest, The Texas Tribune

Many Texans woke to blankets of snow or ice outside their windows, and while freezing temperatures will continue Sunday over much of the state, the electrical grid hasn’t seen tight conditions thus far and power outages remain localized — mostly in far East Texas. 

The wintry precipitation has triggered hundreds of flight cancellations in Texas, and many school districts have announced closures for Monday.

While this storm wasn’t as severe as 2021’s Winter Storm Uri, which killed at least 246 people, memories of the grid’s failure are still fresh almost five years later.    

As of 1 p.m. Sunday, the grid was still holding its own, according to ERCOT’s supply and demand data. Nevertheless, an executive order issued by the U.S. Department of Energy on Saturday authorized the use of backup generation resources to prevent blackouts in the state. 

As the snow, sleet and freezing rain Texas has experienced over the weekend can create dangerous road conditions, state and local officials continue to urge residents to avoid travelling if they don’t have to. 

Winter storm updates

• Lawsuit filed to extend early voting in Harris County

• Heaviest winter precipitation leaves Texas as power grid holds

• Texas grid holding steady as DOE order lets ERCOT tap backup generators

• As freeze takes hold in Texas, risk of power outages rising

• Ice storm expected to make travel nearly impossible in Austin, the Hill Country

• Dallas County says official's out-of-state trip won’t hinder storm response

• Winter precipitation has already fallen in northern swaths of Texas with more expected 

• Winter storm makes its way into Texas

• The electrical grid is ready, officials said

• Utilities have learned lessons from previous storms

Jan. 24, 2026, 10:18 a.m.

Jan. 25, 2026, 4:20 p.m.

Lawsuit filed to extend early voting in Harris County

After Harris County closed polling stations Sunday and Monday due to the severe weather, two nonprofits filed a lawsuit seeking to add two days to the early voting period for the runoff election of Texas’ 18th Congressional District. 

The Texas Civil Rights Project said in a Sunday social media post that it has filed the lawsuit against the county on behalf of Houston Justice and Pure Justice, asking to add Jan. 28 and 29 to early voting. 

“While understandable in light of severe weather and safety concerns, these closures will make it impossible for some of Plaintiffs’ members and other voters in Congressional District 18 … to exercise their right to vote in this important special runoff election,” the lawsuit said. 

The runoff election is between former Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, both Democrats. Both support the lawsuit.

“Folks in TX-18 have already gone nearly a year without a voice in Congress,” Menefee said in a Sunday post on social media. “We shouldn’t have to settle for just five days to vote early in such an important election.”

The district hasn’t had representation in Congress since the March 2025 death of U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner.

“This district has gone without its voice, without its vote, without anyone to advocate on its behalf of federal funding for far too long,” Edwards told The Texas Tribune. “We are finally on the cusp of it getting its voice back and we want to make sure that as many people in this 18th Congressional District as possible have the opportunity to participate in this process.” 

The winner will hold the seat through the end of this year, but will have little time to prepare for the primary election on March 3, which will effectively decide who represents the heavily-Democratic district starting in 2027. The primary also includes U.S. Rep. Al Green, who is changing districts after his district was redrawn in the recent mid-decade redistricting, and Gretchen Brown, a candidate with defense policy experience. 

In the Nov. 4 special election to replace Turner, Menefee finished first with 28.9% of the vote, while Edwards was second at 25.6%, out of 16 candidates.

Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth’s office didn’t immediately respond to a comment request Sunday afternoon. 

“The Harris County Clerk’s Office will continue to monitor the evolving weather situation and provide reopening plans as soon as conditions improve,” said the office’s initial post announcing the poll closures.

— Alex Nguyen

Jan. 25, 2026, 1:38 p.m.

Heaviest winter precipitation leaves Texas as power grid holds

As the heaviest winter weather leaves most of Texas Sunday, the state has so far largely weathered the storm without major problems. Frigid temperatures are expected to linger throughout the day.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday afternoon announced that he’s adding 85 more counties to his previous disaster declaration, which included more than 130 counties before the storm’s arrival to ensure communities could access all possible resources.

In Austin, Mayor Kirk Watson announced one death due to exposure during the winter storm. He didn’t provide more information, but reminded residents that the city’s warming centers and 24-hour cold weather shelters are available to escape the cold.

“Tragedies like this are completely preventable,” Watson said in a statement on social media. “If you need sheltering, PLEASE take advantage of all the resources the City has.”

The statewide electrical grid is holding up, although local outages saw just over 90,000 homes and businesses without power early Sunday afternoon, most of them in East Texas near the Louisiana border, according to PowerOutage.us. 

Nacogdoches County topped the list with more than 13,000 homes and businesses affected, accounting for more than 35% of the county. In neighboring Shelby County, more than 8,500 homes and businesses — or over 50% of the county’s customers — had lost power. Large percentages of utility customers in Panola, Sabine and Rusk counties also had lost power. 

This area is also expected to see another round of winter weather through early Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Like much of the state, East Texas will be under an extreme cold warning Sunday evening through Tuesday morning.

Some school districts across the state, including many in Houston, Dallas and Austin, have already announced Monday school closures. 

Travel continues to be disrupted around the state: Major airports saw mass flight cancellations, according to FlightAware. On Sunday, more than 900 flights going into or out of Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport were cancelled, while more than 450 flights were cancelled at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. 

The Texas Division of Emergency Management reminded Texans to avoid traveling “unless absolutely necessary,” saying that ice covered thousands of roads Sunday.

— Alex Nguyen

Texas grid holding steady as DOE order lets ERCOT tap backup generators

The federal government issued an emergency order Saturday that could help Texas avoid blackouts as a massive winter storm continues to move across the state.

The U.S. Department of Energy said the order lets the Electric Reliability Council of Texas tap backup generators at data centers and other large facilities if the grid needs extra power. The order was issued under a federal emergency authority in the Federal Power Act and is in effect until Jan. 27.

As of 8:40 p.m. Saturday, ERCOT’s dashboard showed Texas’ demand for electricity at 70,268 megawatts and a capacity of 92,778 megawatts. 

The bigger test for the grid may come overnight and early Sunday when demand typically spikes as people crank up their heaters. ERCOT’s forecast also shows demand could stay high into Monday morning. Around 8 a.m. Monday, demand is expected to near 83,800 megawatts, not far below the roughly 89,400 megawatts ERCOT lists as available capacity.

— Jessica Priest

Jan. 24, 2026, 4:00 p.m.

As freeze takes hold in Texas, risk of power outages rising

As the winter storm’s freezing line crosses over Central Texas, National Weather Service meteorologist Jimmy Fowler said the risks of localized power outages are increasing, especially in areas that recently saw precipitation. Wind gusts will only increase the chance of iced tree limbs breaking and potentially knocking out power lines. 

“The window where we're going to be monitoring the most for any weather-related power outages is going to be [Sunday] afternoon as those gusty winds come through,” Fowler said. 

As of Saturday afternoon, more than 54,300 electricity customers in Texas were experiencing localized power outages, according to PowerOutage.com. Those were mostly affecting homes and businesses in the northeast and east area of the state.

Texas officials expect the state’s power grid to meet the demand for electricity through the prolonged sub-freezing temperatures forecasted for much of the state instead of repeating the catastrophic 2021 failure that killed hundreds of people. The Texas Oil & Gas Association, in a news release on Saturday, said “there has been minimal impact to the overall natural gas production and distribution system,” although there have been several reports of local and intermittent power outages in the Permian and Delaware Basins. 

The Panhandle, West Texas and North Texas have already plunged into subfreezing temperatures. The storm’s freezing line is expected to push through Houston overnight, Fowler said, when temperatures may reach the single digits.

In West Texas, residents should largely be wary of dangerous road conditions and cold temperatures lasting into Monday. Precipitation in that region is expected to transition from sleet to snow Saturday night, likely causing slick roadways, according to Kevin Lamberson, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Midland.On Sunday, light snow showers as well as cold temperatures with a wind chill of -5 to -10 degrees are expected.

— Berenice Garcia and Colleen DeGuzman

Jan. 24, 2026, 1:58 p.m.

Ice storm expected to make travel nearly impossible in Austin, the Hill Country

Significant icing is expected to accumulate in the Hill Country, the Austin area and portions of Interstate 35 on Saturday afternoon, making travel nearly impossible, according to the National Weather Service.

The area could see possible ice accumulations of a quarter inch and isolated totals of half an inch. This is expected to cause roads, especially bridges and overpasses, to become slick and hazardous, prompting the weather agency to strongly discourage any travel. If people must travel, they recommend keeping a flashlight, food and water in the vehicle.

Because of ice accumulation, power outages and tree damage are also possible

— Berenice Garcia

Jan. 24, 2026, 11:10 a.m.

Dallas County says official's out-of-state trip won’t hinder storm response

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins’ office said Saturday that the county’s emergency response to the storm won’t be affected by his departure from the state after Fox 4 KDFW reported he was seen boarding a plane to Costa Rica on Friday as North Texas braced for the winter storm. 

In Texas, elected county judges oversee county government and act as emergency managers during disasters.

In a statement to The Texas Tribune on Saturday morning, Jenkins’ office said he “prepared in advance ensuring emergency operations and coordination were in place” before flying out, and that his trip was scheduled months ago.

The county’s chief of emergency services, Scott Forster, is leading the county’s winter storm response efforts, and Jenkins’ chief of staff has been “empowered to sign emergency orders,” according to the statement. 

The county has not confirmed when the judge is expected to be back in Texas, and whether his trip is for personal or work reasons. 

In 2021, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was fiercely criticized for taking a trip to Cancún, Mexico during Winter Storm Uri when Texas’ power grid failed, leading to massive power outages and nearly 250 deaths.

Afterwards Cruz said that his trip was “obviously a mistake.” Ahead of this week’s winter storm, Cruz was seen on a plane headed to Laguna Beach, which spurred a new round of questions and a bevy of social media memes. But in a Friday post on X, Cruz confirmed he was back in Texas.

— Colleen DeGuzman

Jan. 24, 2026, 9:40 a.m.

Winter precipitation has already fallen in northern swaths of Texas with more expected 

The Dallas-Fort Worth area was already seeing a mix of sleet and freezing rain Saturday with more on the way as temperatures will remain below freezing through the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. 

Fort Worth NWS meteorologist David Bonnette said there will be a break in precipitation in the early afternoon, but even more will fall later in the day. 

“There’s going to be another more widespread, a more robust, round of winter precipitation this evening and overnight,” Bonnette said. 

Meanwhile, the Panhandle saw a break in precipitation Saturday morning after snow fell overnight, according to Amarillo NWS meteorologist Peter Vanden Bosch. More snow was expected later Saturday afternoon into the evening. 

It’s -1 degrees in Amarillo, but Bosch said wind will make it feel around -20 degrees. 

Temperatures weren’t as cold in Central Texas where the high Saturday is an estimated 36 degrees, but that’s going to fall to around 27 degrees by 5 p.m. 

In the Austin and San Antonio regions, it was expected to rain until noon. Central Texas NWS meteorologist Eric Platt said that freezing rain is expected to fall near the Interstate 35 corridor in the afternoon as temperatures drop and the winter storm heads south. 

Texans in the Hill Country are already seeing freezing rain, he said. 

As of Saturday morning, nearly 46,000 households and businesses were experiencing power outages, according to PowerOutage.com. Most of the outages were concentrated in the northeast corner of the state.

— Colleen DeGuzman

Jan. 23, 2026, 10:00 p.m.

Winter storm makes its way into Texas

After days of forecasts warning Texans of a winter storm that would blanket the state with ice, sleet and freezing temperatures, the massive system crossed the state line Friday evening.

While most of Texas braced for the impending frost that was expected to make travel hazardous and shut down businesses, residents in northern regions of the state began experiencing sleet and ice accumulation Friday night. Temperatures in Amarillo and across the Panhandle also dipped into single digits late Friday. 

The National Weather Service warned of wind chills in the northern tip of the Panhandle reaching lows of -17 degrees early Saturday. Wind chill is the combined effect of cold temperature and wind speeds on exposed skin. 

Freezing rain and sleet could be seen in Wichita Falls that gradually increased through the evening. However, NWS forecasts expected the intensity of the precipitation to lessen into Saturday afternoon.

Officials in the Dallas-Fort Worth region said that precipitation, combined with freezing temperatures, would also develop into sleet through Friday night and warned residents of the growing potential for ice accumulation on trees and power lines that could cause localized power outages.

For Houston and the southeastern regions of the state, the more intense elements of the winter storm are expected to begin Saturday evening and develop through Monday morning. Several cities including Waco and San Antonio have winter storm warnings scheduled to go into effect at 6 p.m. Saturday, according to the NWS.

— Ayden Runnels

Jan. 23, 2026, 10:00 p.m.

The electrical grid is ready, officials said

Ahead of the storm, ERCOT issued a weather watch from Saturday to Tuesday, citing the weather forecast, higher electrical demand and potentially lower reserves. Though it said the grid is still expected to operate as normal under this designation. 

State leaders have similarly assured Texans that they can depend on the electrical grid through the winter storm.

“The ERCOT grid has never been stronger, never been more prepared and is fully capable of handling this winter storm,” Abbott said Thursday. 

The governor added that there is an “abundance" of natural gas, the source of more than half of the state’s power. And since Uri, Texas lawmakers have pushed natural gas plants to harden their facilities against severe cold. 

ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas also said the operator has increased the reserve margins held during these severe weather events in case it needs to call on those backup supplies. 

“If there were to be an interruption of the gas supply, more than 30 power-[generating] facilities can draw on that on-site fuel to keep operating during an event like this,” Vegas said.

— Alex Nguyen

Jan. 23, 2026, 10:00 p.m.

Utilities have learned lessons from previous storms

On the ground, a major issue to watch is ice accumulation. 

While state officials say the electric grid is prepared, Texans could still see local outages if ice buildup or fallen trees topple power lines or utility poles. This was a major reason why tens of thousands of households and businesses in Austin went without power for days during the 2023 winter storm. 

In turn, utilities in Austin and Houston have buried power lines in targeted areas. 

More efforts to prevent falling trees from knocking out power are also underway. For instance, Public Utilities Commission of Texas’ Chair Thomas Gleeson on Thursday said Oncor did vegetation management on 8,000 extra lines and replaced almost 20,000 additional distribution poles, following the passage of House Bill 2555 in 2023. 

And in case of local power losses, utilities’ outage trackers are currently all “up and running,” Gleeson said. The lack of a local outage tracker was an issue during Hurricane Beryl in 2024, leading some Houstonians to turn to the Whataburger app for information on where power had returned.  

Check the PUCT’s map to see which utility operates in your area. 

— Alex Nguyen

Disclosure: Oncor has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.