State agencies are planning for winter weather later this week. The National Weather Service says Dallas, Fort Worth and points northeast could receive two to five inches of snow; a Winter Weather Advisory stretches from DFW to the Rio Grande, including cities like El Paso and San Angelo.
Since the greatest threats are in West and North Texas, the Texas Department of Transportation has moved crews from the southern parts of the state to those areas. TxDOT says as many as 2,100 people have been pretreating roads with brine.
"We do have more plows. We have more equipment. We have them staged across the state more strategically, and they're all staged and ready to go for this event," says TxDOT's Brian Barth.
Barth says crews are moving to areas most likely to be hit with winter weather, but part of the focus around Dallas/Fort Worth is for fans driving to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium.
"We are encouraging folks, if the roadways are impacted, not to drive if you don't have to," he says. "But if you do and you run across our crews treating the roadways, please give them a wide berth."
Governor Greg Abbott says he talked with leadership of the Cotton Bowl Wednesday morning.
"I was assured there should be no hindrance to people being able to attend the game," he says. "Obviously, with potential snow and icing conditions throughout the DFW area, on I-35, on I-20, on all the different interstates that lead to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, it's incredibly important that everybody drive extra safe. If you're very cautious, slow and methodical in your driving, everything's going to be fine."
Across Texas, Abbott says more than a dozen agencies are working to protect travelers. The Texas National Guard has been activated and will work with Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas A&M Forest Service, the Department of Public Safety and local police to rescue stranded drivers.
"Your role, your service is more critical now than almost any other time as we work collaboratively to protect our fellow Texans," he says.
Abbott says members of the National Guard will carry water, meals ready to eat and blankets for people who may get stuck. They will then be able to take people to warming stations.
Parks and Wildlife will have drones available to search for people who may be trapped. The Texas A&M Forest Service will have trucks and equipment to clear trees that may fall on roads or power lines.
ERCOT says generators have added 10,000 megawatts of electricity to the grid since last winter.
"We do expect to have more than adequate supply of power to serve the state throughout this winter event," says Chief Executive Pablo Vegas. "We've got more supply on the grid than we ever have had before, and we've been coordinating very closely with all the power generators and the transmission distribution utility companies over the last week in preparation for this upcoming weather event."
Vegas says ERCOT has inspected 150 generators and transmission facilities this winter with plans to inspect another 170 in January and February.
He says if a home or neighborhood does lose power, it would be caused by a problem with a local utility such as ice on lines or someone hitting a power pole.
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