HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for much of SE Texas from 6 a.m Saturday to 6 p.m. Sunday and officials want you to ensure your home, valuables, and automobiles are safe.
With the possibility of freezing rain and sleet, driving conditions will be unfavorable. Autotrader and the Department of Public Safety recommend that drivers take precautions to ensure their vehicles run and remain in good standing amid freezing conditions.
Tip 1
Keep your tank full to prevent gas lines from freezing – this will keep any accumulated water from icing up inside the fuel pump.
Tip 2
Check other fluids like antifreeze, which keeps your engine from freezing in cold temperatures, and top off your washer fluid.
Tip 3
Has your tire pressure light come on recently? You can lose up to one pound per square inch with every 10-degree drop in air temperature, which can add wear and tear. Fill up on air at the gas station, but don’t overinflate.
Tip 4
Your car battery is more vulnerable in cold weather, so get it tested, and start your car at least once a day even if you aren’t driving anywhere, and carry jumper cables with you.
Officials also urge you to keep an emergency kit inside your vehicle. Items such as a blanket, radio, flashlight, batteries, phone charger, jumper cables, bottled water, and some snacks would be beneficial to have in case.
Electric vehicle troubles
Experts acknowledge that cold weather can be hard for electric vehicles. But they say with some planning and a little adjustment, owners should be able to travel pretty much as normal.
Inside an EV battery, lithium ions flow through a liquid electrolyte to produce electricity. But they travel more slowly through the electrolyte when it gets cold and release less energy. That cuts into the range and can deplete a battery faster.
Experts recommend EV drivers plan shorter trips during severely cold weather to account for this.
In the short run, automakers are likely to develop better ways to protect battery life and warm them for charging, according to Neil Dasgupta, an associate professor of mechanical and materials science engineering at the University of Michigan. And new battery chemistries are in development that are more resilient in cold weather.
What should I be preparing for with the arctic cold front this weekend?
The ABC13 Weather Team is urging everyone to be prepared to stay warm, stay put, and to possibly go without power should you receive a high amount of freezing rain. The freeze line will enter Southeast Texas before sunrise on Saturday, but it may not reach Houston until later in the afternoon. That said, freezing rain is becoming more likely in Southeast Texas north of I-10. Where freezing rain occurs, it will lead to widespread travel and power disruptions as ice accretes on bridges, elevated roadways, powerlines, and tree branches. Some parts of Southeast Texas north of I-10 could spend more than 48 hours below freezing.
Associated Press writers Tom Krisher, Juan A. Lozano, and Patrick Whittle contributed to this report.
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