Be Prepared For the Cold Weather

It's really cold out there DH'ers! Here is a bit of information about the weather for the upcoming days and helpful links in case anyone needs them. Bundle up, Keep an eye on the heater, Make sure the pipes are covered or that the faucets are left slightly on, bring the pets in, and cover the plants! Be safe out in the streets, mi gente. -OurDHStreets  Office of Disaster Preparedness & Response Greetings! The National Weather Service had reissued a hard freeze warning for tonight. Temperatures today will only increase into the low to mid 30s. Temperatures will quickly fall again into the teens and low 20s tonight into Thursday morning.  Beginning Thursday, moisture is expected to override the colder surface air which may support the development of frozen precipitation on Thursday night into Friday morning. Most of the precipitation should fall as snow for inland areas with expected accumulations of 1 to 3 inches.  Surface temperatures are expected to be in the mid 20s to lower 30s through the duration of this weather event. This means that roadways, especially elevated surfaces like bridges and overpasses, are more likely to become icy and hazardous Thursday night and Friday morning. Remember the 4 P's during this hard freeze:  Pipes Plants Pets People

Harris County-Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management IM's Office of Disaster Preparedness & Response (ODPR) will deploy to Harris County's Emergency Operation Center Thursday ahead of tomorrow's impending winter weather precipitation.  If your house of worship or non-profit responds to needs in our community due to the weather, please contact Jennifer Posten at Jposten@imgh.org to report the conditions that your organization has responded to.  Communications are critical for coordination and situational awareness. Your help is greatly appreciated.  Did your power go out today?  The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has instructed utilities to begin rotating outages to compensate for a generation shortage due to numerous plant trips that occurred because of the extreme weather.  Rotating outages are controlled, temporary interruptions of electric service, typically lasting 10-45 minutes per neighborhood.  The locations and durations are determined by the local utilities.  Critical need customers such as hospitals and nursing homes are generally not included.  It is not known at this time how long the need for rotating outages will last. Consumers and businesses are urged to reduce their electricity use to the lowest level possible, including these steps: §  Limit electricity usage to only that consumption which is absolutely necessary. Turn off all unnecessary lights, appliances, and electronic equipment.  §  Businesses should minimize the use of electric lighting and electricity-consuming equipment as much as possible. §  Large consumers of electricity should consider shutting down or reducing non-essential production processes. See more conservation tips at "Powerful Advice," Public Utility Commission of Texas: www.puc.state.tx.us./ocp/conserve Helpful Winter Websites http://www.safeschoolalerts.org - The official site for school district alerts in the Houston/Harris County region http://www.houstontranstar.org/ -  Real time traffic conditions, maps and freeway cameras for the Houston/Harris County region  http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/ - The National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office for Houston/Galveston region http://www.readyharris.com - Regional Joint Information Center for timely and accurate information when emergency conditions exist in the greater Harris County area