AUSTIN (KXAN) — As Central Texas prepares for severe winter weather on Monday, Travis County and Williamson County said they will open their emergency operation centers in an effort to combat the cold.
Travis County response
The Austin-Travis County Emergency Operations Center will start operations at 7 a.m. on Monday, according to a press release.
The city of Austin said with its facilities closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and temperatures not expected to climb above 40 degrees, the city will shift to 24-hour operation of its cold weather shelters on Monday.
Individuals who stay in a shelter on Sunday night will be allowed to stay all day Monday and check out on Tuesday, according to the city.
In an effort to help Austinites stay warm during the day, the city has opened three Austin Public Library branches from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Those branches include:
- Terrazas Branch – 1105 East Cesar Chavez Street
- Ruiz Branch – 1600 Grove Boulevard
- Little Walnut Branch – 835 W. Rundberg Lane
The city said on Tuesday and Wednes day, Central Library, located at 710 West Cesar Chavez Street will open an hour early at 8 a.m. Other Austin Public Library branches will open at regular business hours and will also serve as warming centers.
A map of available warming centers can be found on the city of Austin’s website.
Williamson County response
Williamson County will open the county’s emergency operations center on Monday evening. The center will be staffed with essential personnel such as emergency management, Williamson County’s Sheriff’s Office and more.
Williamson County’s Road and Bridge Division will be checking pavement temperatures for possible icing throughout Monday night, according to the press release. Crews on-call will work to treat county roads and bridges with sand and de-icing material.
The county said EMS will be fully staffed and have an additional truck in the northern part of the county Monday night to assist as needed.
Williamson County Sheriff’s Office deputies will be monitoring conditions and roadways Monday evening through Tuesday, when precipitation chances are the highest, according to the county.
Williamson County residents can look for more information from the county by visiting its website for updates.