The week of February 13th, heavy blizzards hit Texas. Residents had also been hit with power outages, floods, frozen pipes, and water shortages. With Texas being a relatively hot state, this came as a shock to many people outside of the state. Some Texans had even been forced to leave home in search of warmth. Many grocery stores had shut down, which caused the ones that were open to have lines out their doors, leaving many people in the cold for twenty minutes to one hour. 

Some families resorted to dangerous and potentially deadly things like keeping stove burners running for additional warmth or had been staying in running cars. Others had used grills, or any other heat sources that were available. Some of the state’s power lines and utilities  such as fire hydrants or power lines had either been shut down/frozen or broken due to the low temperatures and heavy snowfall. Austin and San Antonio sent out boil-water notices to their community. 

Grocery stores had been almost emptied, and some shipments of the newly developed COVID-19 vaccine were delayed. Texas lost residents to carbon monoxide poisoning, and vehicle accidents. The Memorial Hermann Health System saw over 100 cases of carbon monoxide poisoning in one week.

This has come as a surprise to many, given that Texas is known for having high temperatures and rarely having any snowfall. Meanwhile, Governor Greg Abbott reassured citizens that he would figure out why so many people have lost power as many power-plants struggle to provide electricity. This has been a shock and a struggle for many Texans, and many hoped that this continuous storm would stop soon.