On Saturday morning, the temperature for many inland locations, including Dallas and College Station, could be as high as 20 degrees, but the welcome return of wind on land and full sunshine will warm the state in the 50s and 60s in the afternoon, Derek Van Dam said. , CNN meteorologist, said. Most of the state will remain above freezing after the first thaw.
A weak cold front is expected Sunday night, but is expected to have only a minimal impact.
Smita Pande in Austin told CNN she lost power to her home earlier in the week and she and her husband stayed with a friend until water was lost. The group then traveled to another friend’s home with operating system until their water supply also failed. The three households returned to Pande’s home, where they relied on the collection of snow to flush their toilets.
Although the power has now been restored, Pande has heard that the wait for water could take several days.
“At this point we are going to get water in a week, we have to adopt the worst case scenario,” Pande said in an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon on Friday. “We hear at this point two or three days, we’re going for the best hope.”
Race to repair utilities
Dr Schuwan Dorsey told CNN she lost power and water early Monday and slept with her two dogs in her car, occasionally turning on the engine to generate heat.
Her Life Alert bracelet was offline because the house’s electricity was up, Dorsey also said.
“I was in danger with my health,” Dorsey said Friday, noting that her strength was only three minutes on Wednesday. Electricity has since returned in full, but water remains out.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler told CNN with burst pipes and power outages that his city needed more water than any other resource. When the power grid failed, it affected the main water treatment plant and the city’s reservoir was lost, Adler told Poppy Harlow, CNN. Those who have water are under boiling water advice.
“It’s a community of people who are scared and upset and angry,” Adler said. “We will eventually need better answers about why we are here and how we can prevent it from ever happening again. But at the moment we are just trying to get water.”
Williams said there were also staff problems as some employees had to stay on site to care for patients, who put food, linen and water under pressure. Supplies and medication supplies were scarce, although a number of trucks were moving Friday, Williams said.
State leaders respond to water crisis
The interruptions of the water are expected to disappear as soon as the freezing temperature does: frozen pipes have burst, but many are worried that even more pipes will do if they thaw.
“We know that today there will be a huge demand for plumbers in the coming days this weekend,” the governor said. “We want to make sure we do everything in our power to help you access the plumbing you need to fix your plumbing problems and leaks.”
The state is also stepping up testing of local water systems through a partnership with the federal government and neighboring Arkansas, Abbott announced Friday.
In partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has set up three mobile water testing laboratories, according to Abbott.