(ETH) – Almost 3 million homes and businesses still had no power in Texas Wednesday morning after this week’s major winter storm even as a second one was threatening a wide swath of the U.S. And after some of the coldest temperatures in decades hit the Lone Star State, a new problem was emerging:
water restrictions because of pipe bursts and a lack of electricity at treatment plants. Galveston, Texas was under Stage 5 water restrictions early Wednesday after major water line breaks from the lack of power, KPRC-TV reported. Residents in Fort Worth were forced to boil their own water after a water treatment plant shut down.
Abilene had water issues as well. And Sugar Land, Texas tweeted a plea for water conservation, saying, “We need your help! Sugar Land’s water systems are seeing emergency pressure levels in multiple areas. Please Minimize your water use to health and safety needs.” The National Weather Service tweeted updates overnight: FULL REPORT
Much of Florida’s Panhandle remains under a tornado watch as Tropical Storm Cindy looms in the Gulf of Mexico. Officials in Santa Rosa County, which is just east of Pensacola, tweeted that some roads were underwater early Wednesday. They urged motorists to use caution if they are driving in the southern end of the county.
News outlets also reported several roads in neighboring Escambia County have been closed due to flooding. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for much of the region until 10 a.m. Wednesday. Forecasters say the area can expect heavy rain through Thursday as the tropical storm moves through Louisiana and Texas. READ MORE
Winter Storm Uri brought ice and days of record-smashing cold to the Southern Plains and Midwest that may linger throughout the week before rising over the weekend into early next week.
The cold left behind natural ice sculptures by freezing fountains and encasing objects in ice throughout the U.S. The storm dumped ice on Oregon on Saturday, bringing down power lines and branches, and knocking out power to tens of thousands of people. As the storm moved east and south, the ice continued to encrust trees and other structures in the storm’s path.
Photos show students posing near a frozen fountain on Baylor University campus on Monday in Waco, Texas, and city employees working to clear ice chunks from a frozen fountain in Richardson, Texas, on Tuesday. Dallas-Fort-Worth saw its coldest temperature since December 1989 on Tuesday, at minus 1 degree, and Oklahoma City recorded its second-coldest temperature on record with minus 14 degrees. READ MORE
