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Winter Storm Warning Downgraded, But Icy Conditions Continue

Gabriel C. Pérez
/
KUT

Updated at 7:30 a.m.

Officials say road conditions in Austin have improved, but with the risk of ice lingering through the morning hours, a number of Central Texas school districts and the City of Austin will operate on a two-hour delay Wednesday. The National Weather Service says a Hard Freeze Warning will continue through noon on Wednesday. 

Capital Metro will resume normal service, and the UT-Austin will return to regular hours. 

The National Weather Service is forecasting lows in the mid-teens overnight with wind chill values making it feel even colder. Temperatures should rise above freezing Wednesday afternoon, melting any remaining ice. By Saturday, Austin is expected to be back in to the 70s. 

PHOTOS: Winter Weather Shuts Down Austin

School Cancellations And Closures

  • Austin - 2-hour delay
  • Bastrop - 2-hour delay
  • Caldwell County - normal hours
  • Del Valle - 2-hour delay
  • Dripping Springs - 2-hour delay
  • Eanes - 2-hour delay
  • Elgin - 2-hour delay
  • Georgetown - normal hours
  • Hays - 2-hour delay
  • Hutto - normal hours
  • Jarrell - normal hours
  • Lago Vista - normal hours
  • Lake Travis - 2-hour delay
  • Leander - normal hours
  • Lockhart - 2-hour delay
  • Luling - 2-hour delay
  • Marble Falls - normal hours
  • Manor - 2-hour delay
  • Pflugerville - normal hours
  • Round Rock - normal hours
  • San Marcos - 2-hour delay
  • Smithville - CLOSED WEDNESDAY
  • Taylor - normal hours
  • Travis County - 2-hour delay
  • Williamson County - normal hours
  • Wimberley - 2-hour delay

Travel Conditions

One person was killed when the vehicle she was in fell about 30 feet off a Slaughter Lane overpass, possibly due to icing, Austin-Travis County EMS said. A second passenger was taken to St. David's South Austin Medical Center.

The Texas Department of Transportation said crews were out Sunday putting a de-icing solution on bridges, overpasses and the main lanes of major highways. TxDOT spokesman Chris Bishop said the goal is to keep at least one lane open for emergency vehicles and that early treatment helps because it will be reactivated by any moisture that hits it.

“It’s kind of a preemptive strike," he said, "trying to get ahead of any ice that would form beforehand, so that once things start happening with freezing rain or sleet or whatever’s going to come down, it buys time for us to get crews out to start the continuous treatment on the roads.”

Still, a handful of flyovers or overpasses – including the Ben White flyover at I-35, the Highway 290 eastbound flyover at I-35 and a section of State Highway 45 near Escarpment Drive – are closed or iced over, according to APD.

Capital Metro said local bus routes will resume a regular schedule Wednesday. The public transit agency had been operating on a more limited Sunday schedule for Tuesday. 

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport said travelers should expect the possibility of continued delays and cancelations "as aircraft have been bumped off schedule and work to get back on track." 

Power Outages

Eighty-four Austin Energy customers are experiencing outages as of 7:30 a.m. Wednesday , according to the public utility's outage map

Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative said its five member service centers will have delayed openings Wednesday to allow employees extra time to get to work. Bluebonnet had restored power to more than 1,100 customers in the Brenham area, but as of Wednesday morning was still working to fix two outages affecting 47 customers.

The Perdernales Electric Cooperative crews were working Wednesday morning to repair 11 meter failures outside of Florence, according to its outage map

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) says it expects high electricity demand today as Central Texas and the rest of the state thaw out Wednesday morning, but the regulator expects the state's grid can handle the bump. ERCOT expects demand to peak between 7 and 8 a.m. Wednesday morning. 

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