Even with gorgeous weather on the forecast, officials from Travis County and the City of Austin gathered Monday to remind people to stay safe during the holidays, both from potentially disastrous weather and from seasonal fire risks.
🧥 Baby, It’s (Kinda) Cold Outside
During our recent burst of winter weather, Austin activated its cold weather shelters for the first time this season, and served 143 individuals and two families seeking respite. The shelters are activated when overnight temperatures are forecasted to drop below 35 degrees, and word is then spread through the media and via text message to nearly 5,000 people signed up for alerts.
If cold weather returns, individuals can register for shelter at the One Texas Center at 505 Barton Springs Road.
🌡️ Will Austin have a White Christmas?
“It’s actually looking like a fairly warm Christmas,” said Jason Runyen of the National Weather Service. But, he added, “the weather can change very quickly in this area of Texas,” making it one of the most challenging areas for predicting weather.
Unseasonably cool temperatures will stick around through Wednesday, but after that, Austinites can expect low temperatures well above freezing and highs near 80 degrees (good thing Barton Springs Pool is free right now, right??). The weather will trend warmer for the following week, too, Runyen said.
But … one never truly knows, said Travis County Judge Andy Brown, adding that Central Texans should expect at least one severe freeze this year, based on historical data.
🎄 Careful While Rockin’ Around That Tree
Half of all house fires take place in December, January, and February, said Austin Fire Department Assistant Chief Jeffrey Kennedy, and many are avoidable. Some tips:
- Keep space heaters 3 feet away from anything that can burn
- Water natural Christmas trees once a day (they are quite flammable!)
- Clear gutters and brush around the outside of homes
- Before lighting fires in a fireplace, check to make sure the flue is open (how else is Santa going to get in??)
- Use caution with kerosene and electric heaters
🦌 Be Like Rudolph — Light Your Own Sleigh
Officials strongly encourage Austinites to be prepared to be self-sufficient and take care of each other. Get to know your neighbors, sign up for emergency alerts, download the Ready Central Texas app, make a plan, and have plenty of extra supplies like medication, food, and water.
Robert Luckritz, the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services chief, said it’s good to know the symptoms of cold-related illnesses like hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning, and to dress in layers so you can “don and doff your clothes.”
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson warned, “There will be outages this winter. It is inevitable. Other places have outages too, it’s not just something that happens in Austin, Texas,” but officials here are preparing so there are as few outages as possible, and that any that occur are restored ASAP.
