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Austin and Travis County officials urge residents to prepare for winter, warn outages possible
Summary
City and county leaders described warming-center activations, urged sign-up for emergency alerts and shared safety guidance for fires, medical needs and people experiencing homelessness. Officials said last night’s sheltering placed 143 people and encouraged residents to prepare medication and heating plans.
City of Austin and Travis County officials on Thursday urged residents to prepare now for winter weather, saying outages are likely and offering information on warming centers, emergency alerts and safety steps.
Mayor Watson said the city is working to minimize outages and restore power “as fast as is humanly possible,” but warned plainly: “There will be outages this winter. It is inevitable.” He urged Austinites to sign up for emergency notifications at WarnCentralTexas and to download the Ready Central Texas app for real‑time updates and checklists.
Travis County Judge Andy Brown told residents to focus on the “4 P’s” — people, pets, plants and pipes — when assembling emergency plans and supplies. “Think now,” Brown said, urging households to prepare so they are not responding when a storm arrives.
Jim Reddick, director of Austin Emergency Management, described the city’s unified planning approach and asked residents to check on neighbors and to report issues before, during and after incidents to help response efforts. He directed people to austintexas.gov/alerts for warming-center locations and times and reminded callers that 911 is for emergencies and 311 can help with code‑related housing issues.
Officials outlined sheltering and outreach efforts for people experiencing homelessness. Chris Anderson, deputy director of Austin Home Strategies and Operations, said that during last night’s activation 143 individuals and two families were brought to an embarkation center and placed in cold‑weather shelters or hotels. Anderson described coordinated morning messaging, targeted text notifications for outreach and person‑to‑person contact at encampments to get people to shelter when temperatures trigger activation protocols.
Rob Lukritz, chief of Austin‑Travis County EMS, urged medically vulnerable residents to keep at least seven days of medication and extra oxygen supplies and to ensure medical devices are charged; EMS teams will coordinate with the homeless strategy office and community health paramedics to check on people before storms. Jeff Kennedy, assistant chief of the Austin Fire Department, emphasized winter fire risks and recommended professional inspections, testing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and safe use of heaters and generators. Kennedy cited FEMA data that about half of home fires occur in December through February and pointed Austinites to the free smoke alarm program at (512) 974‑0299.
Jason Runyon, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Austin‑San Antonio office, said seasonal forecasts currently trend warmer and drier but cautioned officials can still see high‑impact winter storms; historically, January and February are the months with the highest risk for impactful winter events. “We can always get high impact winter storms even when we have a seasonal forecast like that,” Runyon said, and urged residents to follow weather.gov/austin and official sources for updates.
Officials closed by thanking media partners for spreading notices and by reiterating that preparedness steps — from signing up for WarnCentralTexas to checking on neighbors — reduce harm during sudden winter incidents. The city and county said they will continue coordinating shelter activations, outreach and road preparedness as forecasts evolve.
