Overview
- City and county leaders said they are ready for severe cold but cautioned the response will not be flawless and some power losses are inevitable.
- The National Weather Service projects a warmer, drier winter overall yet warns that high‑impact storms are still possible, historically in January and February.
- Austin Energy is trimming trees and weather‑proofing equipment to limit outages, with a pledge to restore power as quickly as possible when failures occur.
- The city will open shelters and warming centers during cold snaps, with centers activated in the mid‑30s and 143 people using shelter on Dec. 14.
- Residents are urged to sign up for Warn Central Texas and the Ready Central Texas app, follow DriveTexas for road conditions, heed TxDOT’s winter driving guidance, and keep seven days of medications and, if needed, extra oxygen.