CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A cold front came through the area on Thursday night, and temperatures are expected to get into the low 30s across the area overnight into Friday. Schools across the Coastal Bend have delayed or canceled classes due to the impending weather and a freeze warning has been issued for the area.
Here's everything you need to know about the impacts of the weather. We will update this blog with new information as it comes in.
WATCHES/WARNINGS
Gale Warning in effect for the bays until noon today, and 6 p.m. for gulf waters.
Small Craft Advisory in effect from noon Thursday through the evening.
Freeze Warning in effect for the entire Coastal Bend (excluding the islands) from Thursday 9 p.m. through Friday at noon.
Winter Storm Warning in effect for the entire Coastal Bend (excluding the islands) from Thursday 9 p.m. through Friday at noon.
SPORTS DELAYS/CANCELLATIONS:
-UPDATE 1/20 - 3:15 PM: CCISD has canceled morning practices Friday before 10:50 a.m. For now afternoon practices (start of baseball) and night athletics events are still a scheduled as planned. The only event that is delayed is the middle school girls basketball tournament. That will be played on Saturday.
-Aransas County ISD announced their schools are closed Friday Jan. 21, but for now all UIL events are still a on schedule for tomorrow afternoon and night.
-The West Oso boys and girls basketball teams will now head to Port Lavaca Saturday for their district games against Calhoun. West Oso and Port Lavaca boys - Sat. 12 p.m. West Oso at Port Lavaca girls - Sat. 1:30 p.m.
-Tuloso-Midway's first day of baseball practice was moved to Saturday at noon.
SCHOOL CLOSURES/DELAYS
Corpus Christi ISD is one of dozens in our area that decided early Thursday to delay or cancel school for Friday. Corpus Christi ISD decided on a 2-hour delay for Friday. Many other decided to cancel classes completely.
Click here for the full list, decisions from nearly four dozen school districts.
ROAD CONDITIONS
Since Tuesday, TxDOT trucks have been spreading brine across the highways and other major roads. Brine, a simple mix of salt and water, is a major defense against icy roads.
Mixing salt into water makes it freeze at a lower temperature, so it will have to get much colder for ice to form.
I-37, I-69, Highway 77 and Highway 281 and 181 -- including the Harbor Bridge -- have all been treated with the mixture.
Additionally, the Crosstown Expressway, South Padre Island Drive, the Yorktown Bridge, and the Ocean drive bridge to the NAS are receiving brine.
TxDOT says to be especially cautious on Farm to Market roads, as these aren't as well traveled and might not have been brined.
Furthermore, if you have to drive, make sure to go slow. It takes twice as long to stop on a wet road and even longer on a frozen one.
For continually updated road closures, visit drivetexas.org.
HOME PREPARATIONS
When it comes to pipes, the size and thickness makes a big difference. Thinner pipes have a higher risk of being damaged by cold weather, which is where insulation comes into play.
The insulation can be for pipes or faucets, and havoc tape can be used for especially thin pipes. According to McCoy's Building Supply employee, Orion Carpio insulation can help prevent the possibility of a costly repair.
"Some pipes are a little thinner than most. I want to say, if I remember correctly, the sewer pipes are thin and the regular PVC pipes are actually pretty thick," Carpio said. "What the insulation does is it actually prevents them from busting. So if you have a spot that's not super insulated, it could possibly bust during the cold front. It just expands the pipe until it cracks."
Carpio warns against panic buying to avoid overwhelming stores by taking their entire supply of cold-preventative materials. He adds that the best way to handle cold fronts is to prepare in advance and be courteous to other shoppers that may need the same thing.
WARMING CENTERS
According to forecasts, the winter storm is going to bring below freezing temperatures, cold rain, and sleet. In response, the city of Corpus Christi is going to be opening warming centers to those in need.
The following centers are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday:
- Broadmoor Senior Center
- Ethel Eyerly Senior Center
- Northwest Senior Center
- La Retama Library
- Ben F. McDonald Library
In addition, Nueces County will be opening its warming shelter at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds. This shelter will be open from 3 p.m. Thursday to 3 p.m. Friday.
Officials remind that these are not a place to sleep or eat, and food will not be provided. Additionally, pets are not allowed. All COVID-19 safety protocols will be in place.
PROTECTING PEOPLE/PETS/PLANTS
The Salvation Army of Texas is already preparing to be an emergency shelter on Thursday night. The organization began setting out 35 mattresses over at the Mother Teresa Shelter. Sister Rency Moonjely, operations supervisor with the shelter, said their organization will be providing warm meals for those who choose to stay at the Salvation Army.
Wyatt Page, Assistant Manager at Gil's Landscape Nursery, said there is more to just covering your plants to protect them against the cold.
"The number one thing is to water," Page said. "So if their potted plants or in the ground your going to want to make sure you give your plants a good soaking."
According to Page, watering plants now could help insulate their root system, as well as trapping their soil warmth.
Always make sure pets are indoors or have a warm shelter when temperatures drop.
POWER OUTAGES
The potential for freezing rain to build up on powerlines as well as expected strong winds also has AEP Texas on standby with crews at the ready.
Larry Jones with AEP Texas said those who rely on electricity for medical reasons should make sure that they have alternate sources of power incase of pockets of power outages.
"Customers on life support or other medical equipment that rely on electricity should always have a backup plan in the event of an extended outage," Jones said. "We are going to do everything possible to quickly restore power, however we can't guarantee how long that restoration effort can take."
AND WE CANNOT FORGET ABOUT THE TURTLES
Between many wildlife organizations, like the ARK, PINS, the Texas State Aquarium the Texas Sea life Center and many more, about 13,000 cold stunned turtles were rescued from the Texas gulf.
"At one point, we probably had 500 turtles here, I would say, if I had to guess," said Amanda Terry, the Director of the Rehabilitation of Texas Sealife Center.
Out of the 13,000, only 4,500 were released and about 9,000 died.
"Dehydration, exposure to the elements, predacious either with the coyotes eating them alive or the birds pecking at the eyes and they bleed out, which is really grizzly. It's even disturbing for some our personnel that go out on search and rescue efforts," said Donna Shaver, a Sea Turtle Biologist with the Padre Island National Seashore.
With another arctic blast on its way, experts are preparing for another round of cold stunned sea turtles.
"All our tubs are lined up and all our paperwork ready to get filled out, so we'll know when they start or when they should start to come in and then we'll start our patrol," Terry added.
Shaver goes step by step on what PINS plans are.
"First, we go out by foot. It's cheaper and logistically easier to deploy, so we'll go out and search. If we start to find a lot by foot, then we'll get the boats out and it will be all hands on deck," said Shaver.
While community volunteers are not being called on just yet, experts warn--if you are out and see a stunned turtle in need, do not try to warm it up yourself.
"Sometimes, people will try to help the turtle by blasting their heater on it and that could actually be pretty damaging. We gradually warm them up," Walker added.
They ask that you call 1-866-TURTLE-5.
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