Thousands without power across Texas as winter storm sweeps through state
Thousands of Texans are without power Sunday after a winter storm bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain swept through Saturday.
As of 9:30 a.m., over 25,000 Texas Oncor customers are without power, with the majority in East Texas, south of Tyler, according to the outage map.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, about 3,000 customers are without power. That includes Tarrant County, where over 1,200 customers are in the dark, and Dallas County, where just over 280 remain without power and Collin County, where 600 are without power.
Ahead of the storm Friday, Oncor told CBS News Texas that it activated its storm‑readiness operations, increasing the number of response teams and on-site crews to help restore power.
The company's biggest concern is neighborhoods where trees may be close to power lines, because after the freezing that occurred overnight, ice-coated branches and limbs can snap easily and bring down lines beneath them. And even a half an inch can add as much as 500 pounds of extra weight to power lines.
As crews work to repair lines and respond to power outages quickly in the DFW area, officials are urging customers to monitor weather alerts and potential service disruptions.
"Customers can also sign up for MyOncor alerts by texting REG to 66267 and we will send them personalized notifications... about outage impacts to their specific address... put together a family emergency plan, as well as storm safety kit, blankets, bottled water... flashlights, just in case you need to withstand an extended time without power," said Andrew Clark, an Oncor spokesperson.
The wintry mix is expected to taper off Sunday, and the extreme cold will last through Tuesday this week, continuing the threat of freezing across North Texas.