02/02/2022
!!! THE TEXAS WINTER STORM IS HEADED OUR WAY !!!
If you’ve been paying attention to the weather this week, you know that a freeze and snow are expected. Tonight it will drop down into the teens with a wintery mix, icy rain and possible snow on Thursday.
It’s important to be prepared - HERE ARE SOME TIPS:
1. Locate your water line and meter so you know how to shut off in advance and make sure you have the right tools to turn it off
2. Turn your thermometer above 55 degrees AT ALL TIMES
3. Wrap outdoor and indoor pipes in unheated areas (like a clothes washer in your garage).
4. Remove water hoses and wrap outdoor pipes. (Towel or Foam)
5. Drain and turn off your lawn sprinkler system.
6. Turn off the water to your clothes washer if it’s in an unheated garage.
7. Store your lawn equipment in a garage or shed to keep them in good condition for next year. Drain the gas.
8. If you leave your house before a freeze, turn off the water at the shutoff valve and leave your heat on.
9. Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors or drip faucets if needed
10. Clear out gutters
11. Make sure you have blankets, firewood or an alternative heat source
12. Have reserves of water…bottles or buckets depending on the purpose
13. Have external batteries charged and on hand
14. Open cabinets under sinks to let your house’s heat warm the pipes.
15. If your pipes freeze, turn off the water at the shutoff valve. This prevents broken pipes from leaking into your house after they thaw.
16. Let faucets drip from the cold and hot taps or run water through your indoor faucets – hot and cold -- before you go to sleep.
17. Keep Animals INSIDE. If its too cold for you outside - Its too cold for them.
SOME WAYS THE CITY IS PREPARING:
- ONCOR is pre-staging crews throughout the area with mutual aid on standby
- The Emergency Operations Center will be open starting Wednesday at noon through at least Friday
- All libraries and rec centers will become warming centers during normal business hours, and may become 24-hour if needed
- A weather shelter will be open at the Fair Park Automobile Building with cots, water, snacks and water