| Austin American statesman
Austin snow: Bumblebee shows city amid freezing cold during winter storm
See Austin as you have rarely seen it before: Cover with snow from above.
Ana Ramirez, Jay Janner, Brontë Wittpenn and Nate Chute, Wochit
Editor’s note: The Statesman makes this story about Austin winter weather free for anyone to read as a public service. If you have not yet done so, please sign up today at statesman.com/subscribenow.
Austin Power Outage Updates: Thousands still without power in Central Texas
Sunday: What you need to know about Austin again Sunday: Snow pays a second visit to Austin this year
Monday: What you need to know about Austin again Monday: Day 5 of freezing, no rain until Wednesday
Tuesday: Winter storm warning valid until Thursday
Austin Water is asking customers in Southwest Austin and the Lost Creek area to boil their water before using it for drinking or boiling, until further notice.
The boiling water notice went out after 11 a.m. Wednesday, which was the first sign of water problems due to power outages that have left much of the city without electricity since Monday morning.
Austin Water says it did not detect contamination in the water supply and that the notice was out of precaution. All Austin Water customers – not just those who have the boiling point notice – are asked to limit their water use to essential needs to prevent a possible boiling notice in the city.
Full story: Boiling Water Notice Issued for Southwest Austin, Lost Creek; other areas are advised to restrict use
Wednesday forecast for Austin
What do you need to know about the weather on Wednesday? Please stay off the roads.
“An important and crippling icing event continues this morning,” the national weather service said in a bulletin early Wednesday. “Traveling this morning in many places across the hill country and along and east of the I-35 corridor is impossible due to icy roads.”
If you have to travel, the weather service recommends keeping an extra blanket, a flashlight, a charged cell phone, extra food and bottled water in your vehicle in case of emergency.
Forecasters warn that tree limbs and ice-covered power lines could come down early this morning, where heavier icing has taken place over the past few days.
Temperatures may rise above freezing in the afternoon, allowing for partial melting. A second round of ice and rain is expected late Wednesday night before turning to snow on Thursday, the weather service said.
“Heavier amounts of snow are currently forecast over the Rio Grande and the western highlands,” forecasters said.
A warning for the winter storm remains in effect until 6 p.m. Thursday for the Austin subway area and the surrounding Hill Country, the weather service said. The warning was extended from 6 Thursday to evening due to the timing of the new precipitation starting late Wednesday.
Austin’s outlook for Wednesday calls for icy rain to continue until 9 p.m. Daytime temperatures can reach 1 degree above freezing to a peak of almost 33. But cold winds will be caused by north winds of 5 to 10 mph.
At night, Austin still has a small chance of freezing rain and snow between midnight and 3 p.m., forecasters said.
Overnight temperatures from Wednesday to Thursday will drop to about 25 degrees below freezing. Biting north winds will continue with gusts up to 20 km / h.
A slight chance of snow, icy rain and sleet is possible early Thursday.
The weather service’s extensive forecast calls for thaw temperatures to begin on Friday and seasonal temperatures for February in Austin this weekend:
Thursday: Slight chance of snow and sleet before 9 am, then a slight chance of snow. High near 34 with north winds of 10 to 15 km / h and gusts up to 20 km / h. At night mostly clear with a low point around 18. North-northwest winds continue.
Friday: Sunny with a high near 42. Then it is mostly clear at night with a low around 25.
Saturday: Sunny with a high of almost 54. South winds increase in the morning to 5 to 10 km / h with gusts up to 20 km / h. At night, mostly cloudy with a low of around 43.
Sunday: Mostly sunny with a high near 60. Then at night, partly cloudy with a low around 38.
Monday: Sunny with a high near 60. Mostly clear at night with a low around 37.