2.7 million people in Texas go without power during winter storm

Over 2.7 million people across Texas are currently powerless like the majority of the state faces single-digit temperatures and sub-zero wind chill, according to national tracker poweroutage.us.

The last: Several airports in the state announced that flights would be canceled Monday due to weather conditions.

• Houston Hobby Airport mentionned its aerodrome “will remain closed” until Tuesday.
• Austin-Bergstrom International Airport ad that all flights were canceled and recommended that travelers contact their specific airlines to manage flight details.
• Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport mentionned all inbound flights would be held at their point of origin until 11 a.m. local time, adding that travelers with still scheduled departing flights should prepare for extreme weather conditions.

The big picture: Large swathes of the country, including the south-eastern central United States, under a winter storm warning, according to the National Weather Service. The freezing temperatures in Texas are historic and have not been seen in decades, according to experts and the state department of transportation.

What is happening: The Texas Electric Reliability Council announced after 1 a.m. Monday that it would start turning outages due to extreme weather conditions to take generators offline.

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (right) released a disaster statement on February 12, saying prolonged freezing temperatures, sleet and heavy snow could result in death, injury and property damage.
• There are reports of road closures statewide, including Houston and San Antonio, with freezing temperatures expected at least the next day.

“The barrage of storms and extreme cold can be attributed to a disturbance in early January of the polar vortex, which allowed lobes of extreme cold to flow back south into North America, Europe and Asia, ”reports the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang.