This story will be continuously updated as new information becomes available.
Slow-rolling power outages are in effect across the state of Texas as officials work to conserve as much electricity as possible during extreme cold and record demand on the grid.
Power demand is forecasted to become even greater Tuesday as temperatures plunge to dangerous lows.
Many school districts have announced closures due to the weather and outages, including Dallas and Fort Worth ISDs, which said they would be closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Forecast
A new Winter Storm Warning has been issued for the next round of wintry weather, which will hit mainly Tuesday night into Wednesday in Texas. This storm will bring snow and ice.
A Wind Chill Warning is also in place through Tuesday at noon. Wind chills are expected to bottom out between -15° and -30° Tuesday morning.
The first-ever Wind Chill Warning is in effect for Dallas-Fort Worth because of these dangerously cold conditions. Wind chills this extreme could become life-threatening to people and animals outside without a shelter.
Power issues
Officials are urging Texans to conserve electricity as the grid faces unprecedented demand from the extreme cold and a lower-than-normal electrical generation due to offline coal and natural gas facilities, as well as frozen turbines.
Speaker Dade Phelan calls for hearing on electric blackouts
The Texas Speaker of the House has called for a hearing on the statewide power outages.
Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, asked the House State Affairs and Energy Resources Committees to hold a joint hearing to review what led to the massive power supply drop-off that has caused all the outages statewide.
“The extreme winter weather Texans experienced this week caused the lights to go off across the Lone Star State,” Phelan said in a news release. “I’m asking these two vital committees to convene a joint hearing on Feb. 25 for the express purpose of helping Texans understand what went wrong and how we can prevent these conditions from happening again."
Phelan said he wants to know what steps regulators and grid operators need to take.
House State Affairs Committee Chairman Chris Paddie echoed that sentiment in the same release.
“The statewide blackouts raise questions about the reliability of our electric grid and its ability to withstand extreme weather events in the future," Paddie added.
Boil order
Hundreds of thousands of homes in Haslet and north Fort Worth are under a boil order after power outages at water utility facilities and loss of water pressure on Monday. Many, if not all of them, have lost water entirely.
Customers impacted by the boil order may lose water for an extended period of time, officials warned.
The boil order is expected to last until at least late Wednesday, but likely longer. Once water service is back, it will take city officials 24 hours to test and get results back.
It's also possible other parts of Fort Worth could experience the same issue.
Customers should boil their water for at least two minutes prior to drinking it, washing with it, or brushing their teeth, according to officials. Water should be boiled vigorously and then cooled before it is consumed.
Flight delays
There have already been thousands of flights canceled in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as the area deals with the wintry weather. Officials are urging any passengers to confirm their flight status before departing for the airport.
Check for delays and cancellations:
North Texas school closures
Major districts that have canceled classes Tuesday
- Arlington ISD - closed Tuesday and Wednesday
- Argyle ISD - closed Tuesday and Wednesday
- Aledo ISD
- Cedar Hill ISD
- Dallas ISD - closed Tuesday and Wednesday, virtual Thursday and Friday
- Denton ISD
- Fort Worth ISD - closed Tuesday and Wednesday
- Frisco ISD
- Garland ISD
- Graford ISD - closed Tuesday and Wednesday
- Grand Prairie ISD - closed Tuesday and Wednesday
- Highland Park ISD
- Keller ISD
- Lancaster ISD
- Lewisville ISD
- Northwest ISD - closed Tuesday and Wednesday
- SMU
- Springtown ISD
- Texas Woman’s University campuses (Denton, Dallas, and Houston)
- University of North Texas campuses (Dallas and Denton) will be closed through Saturday, Feb. 20. Follow the school on Twitter @unteaglealert or on Facebook here for more updates.
Vaccine clinics
Many vaccine clinics across North Texas are closing or rescheduling due to the weather. Below are some that have announced closures.
- The CDC has delayed vaccine shipments to Texas due to the winter storm until Wednesday at the earliest, depending on weather. The same total amount is expected, just at a later date. The state is worried small providers could spoil doses if the power goes out and is asking them to transfer or use doses immediately.
- Fair Park in Dallas will be closed due to weather through Wednesday. Officials said they will be closely monitoring the weather and there may be additional closures after Wednesday if there are still unsafe conditions.
- Parkland drive-thru vaccination and walk-up COVID-19 test centers: The Ellis Davis Field House and Dallas College Eastfield Campus (Mesquite) COVID-19 vaccine drive-through locations operated by Parkland will be closed Tuesday. Anyone who had an appointment for Tuesday at Ellis Davis Field House or Eastfield Campus should go to Parkland Memorial Hospital at 5200 Harry Hines Blvd at their designated appointment time. Anyone unable to travel will be contacted by the hospital to reschedule.
- The COVID-19 testing sites operated by Parkland at Sam Tasby Middle School in Dallas, Irving Health Center, and West Dallas Multipurpose Center will be closed through Thursday.
- All Parkland COVID-19 vaccine clinics (Ellis Davis Field House and Dallas College - Eastfield Campus drive-through locations, New Parkland Hospital, and Old Parkland Hospital) will be closed Wednesday, Feb. 17. Parkland asks that you do not contact them to reschedule; they will contact you directly.
- Vaccine hub operations at Plano's John Clark Stadium will be closed Tuesday.
RELATED: How next week's wintry weather is impacting COVID-19 vaccination efforts across North Texas
Galleria Dallas
Galleria Dallas will remain closed Tuesday.
Bell Fort Worth
Bell Fort Worth area facilities will stay closed on Tuesday.
Trinity Railway Express
TRE announced it will be suspending service from 10 p.m. Monday through the beginning of Thursday due to winter weather conditions in North Texas.
Officials said for any TRE passengers connecting to DART services, rail operations are also suspended until the beginning of Thursday.
TRE said DART shuttle buses will be available for passengers. These bus routes can be viewed online under the "Operating Scenario 2" section.
People can register for TRE alerts or DART alerts for the latest updates and service changes.
DART
Dallas Area Rapid Transit is implementing severe winter operation plans starting on Sunday at 9 p.m. through 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday.
The transit service is moving to Operating Scenario 2, which means all rail operations will be suspended and DART bus routes will operate on normal Saturday schedules for the first few days of the week, with limited service scheduled on routes 63 and 362.
The Dallas Streetcar will not operate during this time, but a shuttle bus will be available between EBJ Union Station and the Bishop Arts District, making all stops. The transit service is also now providing 14 additional shuttle bus routes, which can be viewed here.
Trinity Metro
Buses, TEXRail, Trinity Railway Express (TRE), and on-demand ZIPZONE services will not operate Wednesday.
In-person customer care locations at Fort Worth Central Station and the Ticket Sales Center on Cherry Street will also remain closed.
Passengers with questions can call customer service representatives at the following phone numbers:
General Trinity Metro service inquiries: 817-944-9145
Trinity Metro ACCESS paratransit services – 817-983-8908
Government closures
Dallas County
All Dallas County offices and courts will be closed Tuesday due to inclement weather.
Denton
Denton County is closing all facilities on Tuesday. First responders will remain on duty and inclement weather stations will be open.
DeSoto
In the City of DeSoto, City Hall, the public library, and the recreation center will all be closed.
Hurst
Non-essential city facilities will be closed Tuesday. Trash service is also canceled through Wednesday and is projected to resume service Thursday.
Tarrant County
All Tarrant County governmental buildings will be closed on Wednesday.
Road closures
Drivers can find information on road conditions throughout the state on DriveTexas.org or by calling 800-452-9292.