Thousands in San Antonio powerless before another cold and rainy … – Texas Public Radio

After a long night of freezing rain and wind, some parts of San Antonio remained in the dark on Wednesday.

CPS reported thousands of its customers throughout Bexar County were without power, mostly because ice had accumulated on trees over night.

Forecaster Andrew Quigley said most of the reports of ice accumulation in northern Bexar County were around a tenth of an inch or lower. “We’ve had some reports of freezing rain in Live Oak … over to Helotes and then kind of going up to Hollywood Park, so that’s kind of been where the reports have stayed,” he said.

He said except for northern Bexar County, the rest of San Antonio has been spared so far. The forecast said that is likely the same scenario ahead.

Quigley said residents in northern Bexar need to brace for another night of freezing rain before a warming trend arrives on Thursday.

“Once we get to the mid-morning hours tomorrow, and for sure by the lunch hour, we’re going to be comfortably above freezing and into the 40s. so the icing will be completely out of our hair by that point with no sub-freezing temperatures forecasted beyond that,” he explained.

Some residents in San Antonio reported being without power for hours, starting with outages starting around 4:00 a.m.

Austin faced headaches of its own, with thousands of customers without power. Austin Energy also blamed ice coated tree branches being weighed down and hitting power lines. KUT reported that experts said the power grid was holding up, though it was not facing the same demands as it did during the 2021 winter storm.

Quigley said the biggest regional ice impacts so far and ahead remain focused on the Hill County and Austin, where ice had formed on many roads, bridges, and overpasses.

Some motorists were left briefly stranded on the iced-over bridge over Inks Lake on Highway 29, between Burnet and Llano. The Llano Sheriff’s Department reported a vehicle slid into a guardrail, but there were no injuries.

The Johnson City-based Pedernales Electric Cooperative reported power was out to thousands of meters in the Hill Country counties it served. Fredericksburg-based Central Texas Electric Cooperative reported power out to hundreds of its customers. CTEC reported in some cases crews had to walk along power lines in remote areas to find the problem.

School closures

Most schools and colleges in the Hill Country and Bexar County were closed Tuesday, with the exceptions of Southside ISD and Texas A&M University-San Antonio on the South Side. Schools just to the south and east of Bexar County, including La Vernia ISD and Floresville ISD, remained open.

Most schools and colleges in the Hill Country and Bexar were closed again Wednesday, including every school district in Bexar County.

Trinity University and Our Lady of the Lake University will be remote through 12 p.m. Wednesday, and the Alamo Colleges will be remote through 10 a.m. Thursday. A&M-San Antonio also remained closed Wednesday, with remote classes offered where possible. UTSA and The University of the Incarnate Word were remote on Wednesday.

Also closed on Wednesday: Boerne ISD, Comal ISD, New Braunfels ISD, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD, Northside ISD, North East ISD, San Antonio ISD, Judson ISD, Southwest ISD, East Central ISD, Harlandale ISD, Edgewood ISD, South San Antonio ISD, Alamo Heights ISD, Southside ISD, Somerset ISD, Fort Sam Houston ISD, Randolph Field ISD, Lackland ISD, Floresville ISD, La Vernia ISD, Medina Valley ISD, Pre-K 4 SA, KIPP Texas-San Antonio, and New Frontiers Public Schools.

San Antonio open

Among its several advisories, the City of San Antonio reminded of the four P’s: People, Pets, Plants & Pipes.

Dress in warm layers, bring plants and pets inside, and cover outdoor pipes if temperatures dip below freezing.

Solid Waste Management and VIA Metropolitan Transit planned to remain fully operational on Wednesday.

Some bus routes north of 1604 may be detoured or delayed. See any schedule adjustments and details at VIAinfo.net.

The 3-1-1 call number will remain open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Bexar County closed

Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai announced the closure of all county offices and court dockets for Wednesday due to inclement weather.

“This decision to close Bexar County offices is being made to allow families to care for their children as many area school districts have already announced Wednesday cancellations,” Sakai said in a statement released by his office Tuesday afternoon.

“I am also concerned about senior citizens and encourage them to call 3-1-1 or contact the County for extra assistance as needed,” he said. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency number is 210-335-6000.

He also encouraged essential travel only.

Weather conditions

San Antonio escaped major road closures Tuesday night. Roadways remained open despite the winter weather.

Laura Lopez, spokeperson for the Texas Department of Transportation, said on Monday that crews treated I-35 in northern Bexar and Comal counties and I-10 in Kendall and Kerr counties. She said roads could be treated again if needed. Forecasters said the biggest concerns for travelers are bridges and overpasses.

Freezing rain can stick to bridges, overpasses, making for hazardous driving conditions. Frozen precipitation can also stick to power lines causing them to collapse under the weight and leading to power outages.

Bonnie Petrie and Jack Morgan contributed to this report.

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