Stay warm, and stay put, leaders urge

Houston’s mayor and the Harris County judge encouraged local residents to stay off the roads and keep warm inside as the region prepares for a winter storm with possible snow into the weekend. Mayor Annise Parker and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett spoke together at an afternoon news conference at Houston TranStar to explain government preparations for the frigid weather and a nearly complete government shutdown. By 6 p.m. today, municipal courts were closed. Roads have been treated and some twice. On Friday, most city and county offices will be closed. Jurors should not report to the courts. County community centers may be opened, but other facilities will be “minimally staffed,” Emmett said. City community centers and libraries will be closed, the mayor said. All area schools will be closed Friday, but parents are urged to check with their child’s district for specific information. "Precipitation is going to come about 6 or 8 tonight, which shouldn’t be a big problem for this evening’s rush hours, but by tomorrow morning, that precipitation will have frozen and driving will just be treacherous,” Emmett said. “When you have ice and snow in an area like Houston and Harris County, you use common sense.” Drivers who encounter icy conditions should report the location of treacherous situations to 311. If you are aware of someone who is without heat and in a situation that may become life threatening, call 911 for imminent danger and 211 to access social support services. “We’ll get through this just fine if people stay off the roads as much as possible and are aware of neighbors who may be shut in and anybody that’s without power,” Emmett said. Parker also urged people to stay at home. "We urge people if you don’t have to get on the road, stay off the road. Once that sludge or snow freezes overnight or stays frozen, tomorrow’s commute can be very problematic. It’s just better if you don’t have to get out on the road and you don’t have to come in,” the mayor said. City employees who stay home will burn up one of six mandatory furlough days ordered by Parker to help close a budget gap. “A number of city employees will be at home tomorrow and since I had ordered six mandatory furlough days to be spaced out throughout January through June, for those who do not report to work it will be counted as one of their furlough days." Most county employees have been told to use vacation, personal leave or floating holidays to take the day off. The county is now activated at Level 2 – an around-the-clock high readiness – which means conditions can pose an imminent threat to life and property. Level 3 is increased readiness and Level 4 is normal readiness. Officials do not foresee an increase to Level 1, the maximum. Workers at the TranStar nerve center are answering the phones and Interfaith Ministries is one hand to help with special needs. “We’re just trying to make sure people understand that this is a dangerous situation,” Emmett said. “You have a lot of people that drive 4-wheel vehicles and they think they’re invincible. Well, when they get out on ice, 4-wheel drive doesn’t do you any good. People just have to understand it’s dangerous and just use common sense.” City public works trucks are loaded with salt and have sprayed magnesium chloride where appropriate, Parker said. The Harris County Toll Road Authority has sprayed all the surfaces, “but now it’s gotten so cold that they’re prepared to go back out tonight for the elevated surfaces with what’s kind of called the final treatment to make sure the elevated surfaces remain passable,” Emmett said. “The rest of the pavement is still going to be frozen, so it's going to be very, very dangerous,” the county judge said. “We believe we can all safely get through this and as the weather begins to warm up, hopefully tomorrow (Friday) afternoon, but certainly by Saturday morning, that the worst will be over and we’ll be back on a normal schedule." Emmett says he’s concerned about Friday night, too. "We have to wait and see if it will warm up here during the day,” he said. “We’ll have melting, but unfortunately it doesn’t look like it’s going to evaporate, so tomorrow (Friday) night, we go through all this again. So, most people need to prepare to not be able to travel all the way until about Saturday at noon." The county judge also warned people to take precautions to avoid tragic events in this bitter weather. "It’s almost always the same thing: Someone tries to stay warm by improper use of a space heater, even doing things like going into the garage and starting the car or bringing a charcoal grill in. People have got to think before they do that. Reach out for help,” Emmett said.