The whole country is dealing with unprecedented winter conditions on track to shatter records, but the American southwest, in particular, is suffering under historic amounts of cold and snow.
Texas and Oklahoma — among others — have been hit hard with storms. Thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed, folks in Dallas were dealing with massive accidents from icy road conditions last week, and this week they’re dealing with blackouts and unrelenting ice and snow.
A ten-car pileup was reported in Houston on Sunday night, per ABC 13 and car accidents have been reported all throughout Harris Country which is dealing with its own power outages as well.
Just to give you an example of how crazy the weather is right now, I’ll point you to a winter tornado that struck Brunswick County, North Carolina late Monday evening. Three people died and ten more were injured, per CNN. And North Carolina is still under a tornado watch even as the winter storm rages.
It’s crazy out there. And it’s still not over.
Oklahoma City is expected to see a wind chill that will go as low as 20 below zero, per USA Today. The Northeast, too, will be hit but those states have a little more experience dealing with the bitter cold. Winter tires are an eccentricity down here; folks here swear by their all-seasons.
The south neither has the infrastructure nor the cultural familiarity to deal with the white stuff blanketing their states. To add insult to injury, power grids across the south are failing, causing rolling blackouts in multiple states during this historic deep cold.
Some people in Texas are making the best out of it, but not everyone has that luxury because folks have to go to work even in these conditions so please read up on some cold weather tips for motorists from our own Elizabeth Blackstock.
If you have to get out on the road be extra careful and stay safe. I’m lucky enough to be someplace warm and bundled up, but how about the rest of my fellow Texans, and Okies? How are you doing?