Thousands of Central Texas residents lost power Thursday morning as hundreds of ice-covered tree limbs — some coated with more than a half-inch of ice — began crashing down in neighborhoods after rain overnight.
More than 17,000 people were still without power by Thursday afternoon, according to the Oncor Energy Delivery outage map. Outages were scattered throughout Temple, Belton, Salado, Killeen, Morgan’s Point Resort. The electric provider did not have an estimate on when power would be restored.
Downed trees were an issue in Temple, leading to outages and travel delays.
“As of 1 p.m. Thursday, the city of Temple received 140 calls regarding downed trees in our area,” said Jennifer Henager, Temple’s emergency management program manager. “Some of those downed trees have hit power lines causing a number of outages across the city. It is all hands on deck as we work to clear roadways for drivers, but we do ask for the community’s patience as we work through all of those calls.”
Residents can call the city at 254-298-5653 to report a tree obstructing a roadway or report online at templetx.gov/streets.
“If a tree has fallen on a resident’s property, residents should follow city guidance to appropriately discard trees and debris,” Henager said.
Oncor warned residents to avoid downed power lines. “Safety for our employees and the public is our number one priority,” the company said. “If you see a downed power line, stay away, keep pets and others away and call 911 immediately.”
Temple ISD
Temple ISD, which delayed opening by two hours, had no power at Temple High School for several hours Thursday. Students were allowed to leave the campus during the outage and all student absences would be excused, officials said.
Superintendent Bobby Ott said students and staff that remained at Temple High School were doing “great” and positive during the outage. He said a “fair amount” of students left during the outage — enough to qualify for an attendance waiver.
“I’m so proud of the staff and students at Temple HS,” Ott said in a Twitter post Thursday afternoon. “Power is RESTORED. It has been a day of unforeseen circumstances, but our students and staff ‘slayed’ it and the Wildcats are back!!”
At lunchtime, THS administrators treated teachers and staff to free pizza, Ott said.
Businesses around downtown Temple, including the Telegram, were without internet or phone service for through the day.
Storm response
In a message posted Thursday on its website, Oncor said its damage assessment, vegetation management and power restoration crews “were actively responding to outages caused by an ongoing winter storm and will continue working throughout the day.”
“Oncor has also secured the support of approximately 1,000 utility workers through mutual assistance partnerships with other Texas utilities and neighboring states,” the provider said. “Crews must travel across extremely hazardous and icy road conditions, which may impact response times.”
Communities in the state’s southern, eastern and northeastern regions, including Tyler, Sulphur Springs and Taylor, experienced the greatest impacts from the storm, Oncor said.
“Customers are encouraged to stay weather aware, check in on family members and neighbors and seek alternate accommodations to stay warm and secure.
Temple calls
Downed tree limbs were seemingly everywhere on Thursday, including neighborhoods and city streets. Crews were seen clearing tree limbs from traffic lanes near downtown and elsewhere.
By Thursday morning, Temple Fire & Rescue responded to 24 reports of downed power lines or trees, city spokeswoman Nohely Mackowiak said.
But that number swelled to more than 140 reports of downed trees.
The fire department responded to 13 vehicle accidents and six medical or fall incidents.
Since Monday, the Temple Police Department responded to 61 vehicle accidents, including those on Interstate 35, as well as 19 disabled vehicles, Mackowiak said.
Weather forecast
The National Weather Service recorded .64 inches of rain on Thursday at Draughon-Miller Central Texas Regional Airport in Temple.
The agency issued a hazardous weather outlook on Thursday for Bell, Coryell, Falls, Lampasas, Milam and McLennan counties as the region thaws out.
“Several slick spots and localized black ice as possible tonight as wet roads re-freeze,” NWS said. “These will impact the Friday morning commute.”
Friday through Wednesday, “widespread melting is expected Friday, though some ice and slick spots will remain possible until the afternoon. There is a chance of storms around the middle part of next week, a few of which may be strong.”
Water on roadways faced possible refreezing Thursday night as a low of 31 was expected with north northwesterly winds at 10 to 15 mph with some gusts as high as 20 mph.
Warmer weekend
Friday is forecast to be sunny and warmer with a high expected near 47 and a low around 30.
On Saturday, patchy fog is expected in the morning before skies clear to become mostly sunny. The high temperature will be near 57 with south winds at 5 to 15 mph and occasional gusts. The low is forecast around 37.
Sunny skies are expected Sunday as temperatures rise to near 68 degrees. A low of 47 is forecast.
Monday will be partly sunny and windy with a high near 72 and a low around 56.
Rain will return on Tuesday as a 50% chance of showers is expected. The high will be 66 and the low will be around 49.
More rain is expected Wednesday as a 40% chance of showers is forecast. The high will be near 63 and low near 42.
