Old Man Winter is still giving the Houston area a blast of conditions we are not quite used to.
Harris County officials provided an update at 6am to discuss conditions in our area:
- The word of the day is "patience." There are still lots of road closures on surface streets so neighborhoods are also impassable.
- In the last 24 hours, 582 crahses, including minor and major, even pedestrian accidents have been reported. One person got out of their car and was hit by another car.
- Tollways are waived until 3pm, but drivers are advised to check roadways to be sure you can get through.
- Overnight temperatures were still in the teens and 20's this morning. Temperatures are still expected to be above freezing after 11am and sunny so it'll help melt the ice.
- Drivers along 59 the Southwest Freeway in Fort Bend County have been trapped for hours. the ice on the freeway has been/is being treated but needs to melt before it's reopened. We are still below freezing.
- Stay in the house because if you want to go get something to eat or grab something from the grocery store, they can't even be supplied.
Hear the entire statement provided by Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, Harris County Flood Control District, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Transportation, Harris County Toll Road Authority, and METRO (below):
Let's start with closings, and just like yesterday most of the major districts including Houston and Katy ISD are closed. We have the complete list for you here.
And unfortunately, the weather has already caused at least one death, according to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
“Get off the streets and go to a warming center. Unfortunately we have already had one person who has died,” Turner stated.
That man was a homeless man who died due to exposure. The weather causing other issues too. Fire Chief Samuel Pena says his guys were busy yesterday and not just with accidents.
“We have had 20 responses to structural fires with six actual working fires throughout the city,” Pena stated, adding that they responded to 457 fire and EMS calls yesterday.
There were some power outages yesterday, but Centerpoint this morning has under a thousand people without lights.
And if you are flying today, both Bush and Hobby Airports say to check with your airline, and that the weather was impacting roads in and around the airports.