Houston urges residents to finish errands, use warming centers and stay off roads as arctic blast arrives

Mayor of Houston urged residents to finish essential errands within the next two hours and then stay home to leave road space for first responders as an arctic blast moves into the region.

The mayor said the city has been preparing since last Thursday, that warming centers opened last weekend and that the emergency center has been "all hands on deck." He told residents, "you've got about 2 hours left to do your shopping and tend to business that requires you to be on our roads, then I would ask you to stay at home and leave our roads for our first responders." The mayor reported that warming centers served 609 participants last night, with Fondy reaching 198 and Cashmere 38.

The nut graf: City departments, first responders and nonprofit partners described a multi-agency response that includes warming centers, targeted roadway pretreatment, additional transportation capacity and public-safety messaging. Officials emphasized the limits of local authority and repeatedly urged residents to take specific safety steps—stay off roads when possible, protect pipes and avoid indoor generator or space-heater misuse.

Public Works Director Randy said crews have been pretreating critical overpasses, bridges and flyovers with a brine solution but warned that pretreatment is selective and does not make streets universally safe. "Don't let that fool you to think that because we've treated it, that makes it safe to drive there," Randy said, adding that most lane miles are not pretreated and that ice is likely to form beneath visible snow.

Fire Chief Munoz reported the fire department has responded to roughly 60 carbon-monoxide-related alarm calls since midnight and urged safe generator use and monitoring for symptoms of carbon-monoxide exposure. "If you do feel some symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, please open a window and call our fire department through 911," Munoz said. He also urged caution with space heaters and fireplaces, noting winter months bring an increase in fires and carbon-monoxide incidents.

Police Chief Diaz and Homeland Security Director Chief Satterwhite described outreach to unsheltered residents. Officials said teams worked overnight to persuade people to accept shelter, to transport those who agreed, and to allow pets at warming centers when feasible. The mayor said the city operates 10 overnight warming centers and that transportation partners, including ZTrip, had provided more than 92 trips early in the day to move people to shelters.

Residents were given practical safety steps: wrap exterior pipes and know the location of home shutoff valves; open cabinet doors to warm pipes; call 311 for major water-main breaks and for assistance with household water issues; and check on seniors, pets and neighbors. The mayor said the state sent blankets and meals and that the county and nonprofits are assisting; the city is coordinating with CenterPoint, ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission on energy availability.

Officials also announced service changes: Metro bus operations will close at 9 p.m. and the airport will close at midnight; most city departments (except first responders) will be closed the following day. Mayor said the storm may arrive sooner than the previously estimated midnight and advised planning to remain in place for approximately 48 hours.

The briefing closed with officials thanking volunteers and staff, promising an update the next day, and repeating the key public-safety appeals: stay off roads if possible; use warming centers if needed; take precautions against carbon monoxide and fires; and report major water or public-safety incidents to 311 or 911 as appropriate.