Hidalgo: 'Have all of the preparations by midday Thursday when the front comes through'

While Harris County leaders have urged residents to get ready for the arrival of an arctic blast that’s expected to send the mercury into the teens, they expressed confidence that the Christmas holiday weekend won’t be anything like 2021’s Winter Storm Uri, Houston FOX affiliate KRIV reported. 

Per KRIV, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo urged homeowners to abide by the so-called four P’s: Protect people, pipes, pets and plants. 

"Have all of the preparations … by midday Thursday when the front comes through," Hidalgo said, the station reported.

KRIV reported that the county’s chief meteorologist, Jeff Lindner, warned the public the Houston area will be below 32 degrees Fahrenheit “for an extended period of time." 

"Low [temperatures] in the hard freeze criteria, 24 degrees or colder,” Lindner said in the report. 

The average low from Friday to Christmas Day on Sunday is about 23 degrees Fahrenheit, Houston Daily reported.

A press release from the City of Houston said that Mayor Sylvester Turner has requested the city’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to open five warming centers on Thursday in anticipation of the dangerously cold weather. 

Per the release, these centers will offer chairs, blankets, water and other necessary provisions, but won’t have sleeping cots and hot meals because the city isn’t opening shelters. 

The city said that people may come and go as needed.

Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported that Houston Public Works (HPW) has prepared the city’s streets, water and wastewater facilities ahead of the front.

“We're wrapping exposed pipes, stocking up on fuel and testing generators in case they are needed,” the department tweeted. “We have crews ready to respond as needed.” 

KRIV reported that City of Houston and Harris County officials aren’t anticipating any precipitation but are concerned about the grid, the homeless and the elderly. 

“[The Electric Reliability Council of Texas] (ERCOT) ensured us the grid will have sufficient capacity to meet demand,” Hidalgo said, per KRIV. “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."