{"id":182,"date":"2021-02-20T01:14:21","date_gmt":"2021-02-20T01:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.ark7.com\/?p=182"},"modified":"2023-05-18T02:33:14","modified_gmt":"2023-05-18T02:33:14","slug":"winter-storm-uri-causes-freezing-temperatures-and-blackouts-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ark7.com\/blog\/articles\/winter-storm-uri-causes-freezing-temperatures-and-blackouts-in-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Storm Uri Causes Freezing Temperatures and Blackouts in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Beginning February 14th, an unprecedented winter blast swept through the state of Texas, causing temperatures to fall into the single digits and lower, multiple days of snow and ice, and hard freeze warnings issued for Texas cities in different regions such as North Texas, Central Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast. The storm, named Winter Storm Uri by the Federal Communications Commission, <\/a>affected many regions of the U.S. from February 12-16, The Weather Channel<\/a> reported. As three of Ark7\u2019s properties are located in the Central Texas cities of Austin, Cedar Park, and Pflugerville, the Ark7 residential management team took precautions to protect Texas properties and have worked since last week to prepare for the cold weather.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A neighborhood during the storm in Austin, Texas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As temperatures plunged in regions of Texas unaccustomed to cold weather, the strain on the power grid increased when residents used electricity for heating to stay warm. Central Austin\u2019s Community Impact Newspaper has said the February winter storm has lowered the Texas winter climate to the <\/span>\u201ccoldest temperatures in 30 years\u201d<\/span> <\/a>with temperatures at 9\u00b0F (-12.7\u00b0C) low and 23\u00b0F (-5\u00b0C) high<\/a> on Monday, February 15th. According to <\/span>CNN<\/span><\/a>, the state power grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) ordered rolling power outages, which \u201ctypically [last] for 10 to 45 minutes\u201d to ease the strain on the power grid. However, the situation worsened when residents experiencing the rolling power outages did not get their power back for hours or even days. The loss of power has affected everything from plumbing, with freezing temperatures causing frozen pipes to burst, to water treatment facilities\u2019 ability to supply residents with clean drinking water.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ark7 has taken 5 essential steps to keep tenants and properties safe during the February winter storm in Texas:<\/span><\/p>\n