Some parts of Southeast Texas will see single-digit temperatures as a rare arctic storm continues throughout much of the region over the next several days.
An inch of sleet fell overnight in the Beaumont area, icing roads that will remain frozen for the next several days with highs just a degree above freezing, according to the National Weather Service.
“Bitterly cold temperatures coming tonight and another round of winter precipitation coming sometime Wednesday morning,” NWS Meteorologist Donald Jones said during a briefing Monday.
Those temperatures could be as low as 5°F in Woodville, 8°F in Jasper and 10°F in Beaumont.
“Cloud cover will probably clear out overnight,” NWS Meteorologist Stacey Denson told The Enerprise. “The main thing is that if there is precipitation on the ground it is going to stay there since temperatures will not get above freezing.”
In Jasper, a light snow combined with low temperatures and icy roads has made much of the county undrivable.
“We got quite a bit of snowfall, especially in the northern part of the county,” Jasper County Judge Mark Allen told The Enterprise. “Most of the roads really aren’t passable at this time. They put the salt brine out on the bridges which helps a little, but there was so much snow accumulation it really is difficult for anybody to drive.”
Officials across the region are urging residents to stay at home if possible.
District's that will be transitioning to online learning Tuesday and opening Wednesday include Beaumont ISD, Sabine Pass ISD, Nederland ISD, Bob Hope School, Bridge City ISD, Buna ISD, Little Cypress-Mauriceville CISD, Newton ISD, Port Arthur ISD, Silsbee ISD and West Orange Cove CISD.
Port Neches-Groves ISD staff will return Wednesday at noon. Students will return after additional updates are provided.
“If they want to enjoy the snow and the scenery, do it at home, don’t get in vehicles and drive around. It’s just too much,” Allen said.
Grocery stores, including H-E-B scaled back hours Monday and some hospitals altered operations as well as government buildings.
Christus Southeast Texas Health Systems has closed the St. Elizabeth Outpatient Pavilion, the St. Mary Mid-County Outpatient Center and the Beaumont Bone and Joint Institute.
The Jefferson County Courthouse was closed Monday afternoon, and trash pick-up in Port Neches and Beaumont has been delayed.
The potentially treacherous conditions have caused schools to move classes online Tuesday, with most planning to reopen campuses Wednesday.
Several districts, including Jasper ISD, are on winter break this week.
Southeast Texas has been spared the brunt of potentially dangerous power outages so far as utilities across the state reel from unprecedented demand with frigid forecasts throughout much of the state.
In Houston, nearly 1.2 million customers are out of power, with officials predicting a prolonged outage.
“In order to prevent a total, statewide blackout, which could take several days if not one or two weeks to restore, the system is having to be very surgical on taking people off the system to reduce that demand on that limited supply,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “Otherwise, it could be considerably worse and this situation could be prolonged.”
Utility companies, including Entergy, have been conducting intermittent planned power outages to try and keep up with the demand.
“We’re still continuing to monitor the conditions and are still under a directive from (Midcontinent Independent System Operator) to implement load reductions,” Entergy Spokesperson Allie Payne told The Enterprise. “We’re certainly doing everything in our power to bring back generation which would reduce the need for those periodic outages. At this point we don’t anticipate outages in the Golden Triangle area related to the periodic power outages.”
In the event that any schools are impacted by power outages, the Texas Education Agency has authorized districts experiencing outages leading to full closures to apply for a waiver for a maximum of three days without make-up required or having to utilize bad weather days.
Otherwise districts will be able to apply for full-day funding waivers for virtual learning.
While most residents are huddled in their homes, some ventured out to explore the frozen city and run errands.
Daniela Uresti used a spoon to scrape ice off her windshield before heading out.
“I grew up in Virginia, so we were used to the snow,” she told The Enterprise. “But now I’m used to the heat.”
Uresti stayed home with friends and drank hot chocolate Monday after her work told her to stay home because of icy roads.
“I stayed inside, except to take my dogs out for their first snow,” she said. “They loved it.”
With temperatures dipping even lower, organizations are opening to help those in need.
The Islamic Society of Triplex, located at 1270 W. Cardinal Drive, is offering lodging for up to 20 people (due to social distancing), food, clothing and blankets as long as the weather threat exists.
Shahid Javed, who is on the board of the Islamic Center, said they are always trying to do things to help out the community.
Temperatures will rise just above freezing Wednesday afternoon, and gradually warm up until the weekend when there will be a high of 58°F Saturday and 67°F Sunday.
Houston Chronicle reporters staff writers Zach Despart, Nicole Hensley and Enterprise staff photographer Kim Brent contributed to this report.
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