ERCOT issues weather watch for expected freezing temps across Texas early next week

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state's electric grid operator, on Wednesday issued a weather watch for early next week, citing extreme cold temperatures forecast across the state.

The state is facing an arctic front on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The weather pattern will drive temperatures well below average throughout Texas, but precipitation is not expected, said Mack Morris, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in New Braunfels. For that reason, it is not a winter storm.

Northern Texas will likely experience the coldest temperatures, including some potentially in the single digits in the Panhandle, but cold air "bottled up in northern Canada" will spill as far south as the border, Morris said. The Austin and San Antonio region will see lows below freezing on Monday and Tuesday.

The ERCOT advisory warns that the roughly three-day cold snap could cause "higher electrical demand" and "the potential for lower reserves," but says ERCOT expects grid conditions to be normal. It does not direct Texas residents to conserve energy.

In the wake of the winter storm in February 2021 that left about 250 people dead and millions without power, ERCOT made changes to its power generation scheme. In December, the council's top executive assured its board of directors that additional power generation over the past year has prepared the state's power grid going into January and February.

"We are as ready as we have ever been to deal with the challenges of the winter season," ERCOT chief Pablo Vegas told the board of directors at its quarterly meeting Dec. 19.

Because precipitation is unlikely in most of Texas, the cold snap doesn't pose as severe of a risk as did the blizzard in February 2021, Morris said.

"This is not going to be like February 2021, not even close to it. It's going to be more like December 2022's cold snap," Morris said. "We have a couple of days of colder temperatures, but it should be mainly dry."

However, he advised Texans to monitor "trusted sources" for updates on precipitation – and that doesn't include your iPhone's weather app. He says that because automated forecast apps and websites aren't checked by humans, temperatures can be accurate but estimates of precipitation are "pretty awful."

'Ready as ever been': ERCOT chief says Texas power grid is prepared coming winter

How to prepare

Morris and his NWS colleagues advised people living in areas affected by winter weather advisories to keep in mind "the four P's": people, pets, pipes and plants.

In southern Texas, "homes down here aren't built the same way as they are up North" and pipes can be prone to freezing, Morris said. Residents should insulate outdoor pipes, and, when freezing temperatures are expected, they should allow water to drip continuously from faucets and open cabinets below sinks to allow heated air to circulate indoors.

Texas residents can sign up online at ercot.com/txans to receive alerts from ERCOT's Texas Advisory and Notification System in the case that conditions change.

Staff writer John C. Moritz contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: ERCOT issues weather watch for expected freezing temps in Texas