Harris Co. leaders urge people to prepare for dangerous cold, optimistic there won't be issues

Harris County leaders urging preparedness ahead of hard freeze

FOX 26 Reporter Matthew Seedorff has more on what city and county officials are urging everyone to do ahead of the hard freeze that is quickly approaching.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Harris County leaders are urging people to prepare for dangerously cold weather.

On Tuesday, The National Weather Service issued Hard Freeze and Wind Chill Watches for the Houston area. The low Friday morning in Houston could be in the teens. However, with the wind, it could feel like two degrees or colder.

"We will be below freezing for an extended period of time," said Harris County meteorologist Jeff Lindner. "Low [temperatures] in the hard freeze criteria, 24 degrees or colder."

Although the temperatures are predicted to be dangerously cold in the Houston area later this week, no precipitation is expected. As a result, officials believe it will remain safe to travel for work or leisure.

"Have all of the preparations for the 4 p’s," said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. "People, plants, pets, and pipes by midday Thursday when the front comes through."

Harris Co. Judge, Houston Mayor provide update on hard freeze

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner provide an update on what the county, city is doing to prepare for the hard freeze expected this week in the area.

"We’re not anticipating any precipitation," said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. "But we are concerned with those living on the streets [and] our seniors."

Representatives from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) insist the state’s power grid is prepared for the winter weather. While there could be scattered outages caused by trees falling on power lines, officials are confident outages won’t be widespread.

"We’ve spoken to ERCOT," said Judge Hidalgo. "They’ve ensured us the grid will have sufficient capacity to meet demand. We’ve asked all of the questions. We can’t go check every single promise of weatherization. I have no reason to doubt their assurances that there will not be widespread outages."

Warming shelters will be setup through the city of Houston. The dangerously cold weather is expected to begin Thursday and go through Saturday.