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A sign warns of frozen pipes in Dallas on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021. At least 2.5 million customers, most of them in Texas, had lost electricity by early Monday as weather advisories extended from coast to coast. (Nitashia Johnson/The New York Times)

Water pumps flowing, hampered by residential leaks

Beaumont ISD board members listen to program reports during their meeting Thursday. Photo taken Thursday, January 21, 2021 Kim Brent/The Enterprise

Weather postpones BISD board meeting, public hearing

Texas Dept. of Transportation crew removing ice and snow from roads and bridges. This photo was taken on Groves SH73

Showers possible with break in the freeze

Downtownn Beaumont was deserted early Monday morning as Southeast Texans awoke to frigid temperatures and iced cars and roadways after the arctic front moved in overnight. Photo taken Monday, February 15, 2021 Kim Brent/The Enterprise

Weather begins slow warming trend, schools extend closures

Entergy Power repair crews head north on Interstate 55 in north Jackson, Miss., Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, as light snow mixed with sleet, and rain continue to cover much of the state. The National Weather Service forecasts temperatures barely hovering at 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and likely slipping into the single digits by Tuesday morning. A winter storm warning continues throughout the state. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Entergy cites progress, despite outages for nearly 38,000

Texas Dept. of Transportation crew removing ice and snow from roads and bridges. This photo was taken on Groves SH73

US 96 overpass in Evadale closed due to ice

Bishop David Toups joins in an opening prayer as he leads an Ash Wednesday service at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica. Photo made Wednesday, February 17, 2021 Kim Brent/The Enterprise

Ash Wednesday begins season of sacrifice

Southeast Texans awoke to frigid temperatures and iced cars and roadways Monday as the arctic front moved in overnight. Photo taken Monday, February 15, 2021 Kim Brent/The Enterprise

Boil water notices issued

Entergy Power repair crews head north on Interstate 55 in north Jackson, Miss., Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, as light snow mixed with sleet, and rain continue to cover much of the state. The National Weather Service forecasts temperatures barely hovering at 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and likely slipping into the single digits by Tuesday morning. A winter storm warning continues throughout the state. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Utilities, industry grapple with cold

Billy Campbell serves chicken to Donald Bias as lunch is served at Victory Temple in Beaumont, which opened to those in need of shelter from the storm Saturday and will remain open through Friday morning. Bias has been living outside at the downtown bus station for three months sinnce completing his parole and having to leave the halfway house at which hhe had been staying. He suffers from multiple health conditions, has been running out of his medication, and receives only $265.00 a month from his railroad pension. "That isn't enough to pay for anything" to find housing, he says. Bias is still trying to get social security, and volunteers at the shelter are working to fill his prescriptions. When a volunteer came to the bus station Sunday, he was the only one who accepted the ride to the shelter. He says the dope some on the streets are smoking affects their judgement. "They aren't able to make the right decisions," he says, but as temperatures continued to worsen, he has since seen some arrive for shelter. "I'm staying put," he says, "I'm gonna stay here through Friday" before likely returning to the bus stop. Photo made Tuesday, February 16, 2021 Kim Brent/The Enterprise

Schools close, shelters open as frigid temps persist

US home construction falls 6% in January but permits up

MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

Feb. 18, 2021Updated: Feb. 18, 2021 7:56 a.m.

FILE - This Sept. 24, 2020 file photo shows a new home under construction in Houston. The number of newly issued permits to build fresh housing rose 6.2% in November on a seasonally adjusted basis. Housing starts rose 1.2%, and are up 12.8% higher than a year ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, Dec. 17, to an annualized rate of 1.547 million. . — FILE - This Sept. 24, 2020 file photo shows a new home under construction in Houston. The number of newly issued permits to build fresh housing rose 6.2% in November on a seasonally adjusted basis. Housing starts rose 1.2%, and are up 12.8% higher than a year ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, Dec. 17, to an annualized rate of 1.547 million. .David J. Phillip/AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home construction fell 6% in January but applications for building permits, which typically signal activity ahead, rose sharply.

Last month's decline pushed home and apartment construction down to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.58 million units in January, compared with 1.68 million in December, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Single-family construction starts dropped 12.2% while construction of apartment units rose 16.2%.

Applications for building permits, considered a good sign of future activity, were up 10.4% in January to an annual rate of 1.88 million units.