AUSTIN — North Texas should prepare for extreme cold to hit the region Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott warned Monday.
North Texas will face “what will likely be the coldest weather event of the year,” Abbott said Monday morning after a briefing from state emergency response officials. “And actually in some places in the state of Texas, it may be the coldest event ever marked in history in the state of Texas.”
Even so, Abbott and other state officials offered reassurances that the Texas power grid is up to the challenge.
“The power grid has never been stronger than it is now,” Abbott said. “There is every reason to be 100% confident the power grid will be able to withstand this challenge.”
The governor said the north and northwest regions will begin experiencing extreme cold Tuesday, “with wind chills at zero or lower.”
There will be widespread freezing across almost the state Wednesday and Thursday, Abbott said. “When temperatures get that cold, lives are at risk. People need to be very cautious here in the coming days as temperatures plummet to make sure that you take care of yourself.”
The weather service has issued an extreme cold watch for much of North Texas from Tuesday evening through Thursday morning.
Forecasters are predicting Wednesday and Thursday will have high temperatures in the 20s and 30s with lows in the teens and single digits. Some parts of North Texas could see wind chills as low as 10-below, federal forecasters said.
The harsh conditions are part of a polar vortex forecast to bring dangerously cold weather to a large swath of the U.S., with the northern Rockies and northern Plains first in line.
While the coldest weather will be further north, the snap could bring temperatures down to the 30s as far south as the Rio Grande Valley Thursday night, according to forecasts.
This is a developing story.
