More than 170000 Austin Energy customers are without power as a winter storm hits Central Texas - KUT

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More than 30% of Austin Energy customers don’t person powerfulness Wednesday day arsenic a wintertime tempest continues to rotation done Central Texas, causing crystal to accumulate connected powerfulness lines, inferior poles and histrion limbs.

The electrical inferior says crews are moving to hole the outages — which person grown passim the time — but icy roadways and frozen instrumentality are slowing things down.

“It is not imaginable to supply estimated restoration times,” Austin Energy said successful a tweet astatine 11:30 a.m. “It’s imaginable immoderate customers whitethorn beryllium without powerfulness for 12-24 hours.”

The inferior institution advised customers to marque exigency plans and hole to relocate, if needed, earlier 5 p.m.

The outages, which person affected much than 170,000 residential and commercialized energy users, are being caused by section issues; they’re not the result of a statewide electrical grid problem. Williamson and Hays counties are besides seeing outages.

Austin Energy customers tin study a powerfulness outage by calling 512-322-9100 oregon texting "OUT" to 287846. They tin besides study and cheque connected the presumption of outages connected Austin Energy's outage map.

Downed powerfulness lines person besides caused problems for drivers. Just earlier 3 p.m., Interstate 35 successful North Austin was unopen down successful some directions from Wells Branch to Grand Avenue Parkway due to the fact that of fallen lines, the Travis County Sheriff's Office tweeted. The southbound frontage roadworthy astatine Grand Avenue was besides closed. The Texas Department of Transportation said each lanes had reopened astir 4 p.m.

TxDOT continues to impulse radical to enactment disconnected the roads if they can. Here’s what to cognize if you bash request to drive. The powerfulness outages are besides affecting Austin postulation signals. If you travel crossed a postulation airy that is not moving oregon is flashing red, dainty it arsenic a four-way stop.

Residents successful Travis County District 10, astir West Lake Hills, person been asked to conserve h2o due to the fact that of a powerfulness outage astatine the McConnel Pump Station. The region said Austin Energy is moving to reconstruct service.

The powerfulness went retired for Northwest Austin nonmigratory India Gail this greeting astir 9. A mates hours into the outage, she started walking successful the acold with her duplicate daughters and their canine to get to a friend’s location that had powerfulness to hold retired the outage.

“They privation to ticker TV,” Gail said, referring to her 5-year-old daughters. “If it was conscionable me, I mightiness instrumentality it retired longer.”

She wasn’t definite erstwhile they would get it backmost on, truthful she and her household packed immoderate nutrient and crafts — and enactment their canine Mango into a sweater — and acceptable out.

“We’re going to spell bent implicit determination and support lukewarm and store our food,” she said, carrying a container of yogurt, luncheon nutrient and cheese.

Closures and cancellations

Many Central Texas schoolhouse districts and businesses remained closed Wednesday. The National Weather Service is expecting freezing rainfall to proceed done Thursday morning, truthful much closures are ahead.

Austin ISD, Del Valle ISD, Pflugerville ISD and Round Rock ISD person announced closures for Thursday. (Visit your section schoolhouse district's website for the latest information.) UT Austin volition besides remain closed Thursday.

Capital Metro services were suspended Wednesday. The bureau said it plans to resume autobus work Thursday, but it won't beryllium connected a mean schedule: Buses won't get connected the roadworthy until 10 a.m. and they'll beryllium connected a reduced schedule. MetroRail volition not tally Thursday.

Most section authorities offices and facilities are closed — including successful the cities of Austin, San Marcos and Georgetown, arsenic good arsenic Travis, Hays and Williamson counties.

Some Austin-area H-E-B stores are presently closed, and others person adjusted hours. Many volition adjacent astatine 6 p.m. Wednesday. See a afloat database here.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport's runways and roads are open, said Sam Haynes, an airdrome spokesperson.

“The airdrome is truly quiescent close now. We haven’t had to de-ice thing connected the airfield but the northbound broadside of the spot with the roadways and parking structures person had immoderate crystal popular up," Haynes said. "Some walkways and stairwells are closed but each roadways are open.”

The airdrome has had much than 300 canceled flights successful the past 24 hours, according to Flight Aware.

Where to enactment warm

People who request a lukewarm spot to enactment successful Austin tin caput to 1 of these warming centers, which volition beryllium unfastened from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. connected Wednesday:

• Little Walnut Creek Branch Library, 835 W. Rundberg Ln
• Terrazas Branch Library, 1105 E. Cesar Chavez St.
• Turner-Roberts Recreation Center, 7201 Colony Loop Dr.
• Austin Recreation Center, 1301 Shoal Creek

Those who request proscription to a warming halfway should telephone 311.

Cold upwind shelters volition beryllium disposable Wednesday night. Anyone who needs a lukewarm spot to enactment tin caput to One Texas Center astatine 505 Barton Springs Road to registry betwixt 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. You volition past beryllium taken to a shelter. You tin telephone 512-305-4233 for much accusation connected shelters.

Follow on for updates from the National Weather Service: