Texas power outage tracker: More than 350,000 outages as winter storm, ice sweep state
Looking for the latest updates on Texas power outages? Follow along here.
More than 344,000 homes and businesses were without power in Texas on Wednesday as the Lone Star state continued to battle frigid temperatures and freezing rain.
In Travis County alone, which houses the state capital of Austin, nearly 176,000 customers – more than a quarter of the energy customers in the county – were without power as of about 6:30 p.m. CT, as the area endured another day of the winter storm.
More than 45,000 outages were reported in Williamson County, just north of Austin.
Elsewhere, nearly 35,000 customers were without power in Smith County, as well as around 11,000 in Bell County, according to USA TODAY Network's power outage database.
Live updates: 300,000 without power in Texas, 1,800 flights canceled, at least 6 dead as winter storm sweeps US
Texas power outage map
As of about 6:30 p.m. CT, more than 350,000 customers across the state did not have power, per outage tracking website PowerOutage.us.
Ice storm warning in effect
Ice can cause tree limbs to freeze, snap and fall on power lines, resulting in mass outages.
As of about noon local time the state's electrical power grid reported plenty of power and showed it was operating within normal conditions.
Electric Reliability Council of Texas manages the flow of electric power to more than 26 million Texas customers – representing about 90 percent of the state’s electric load.
Live updates: 250,000 without power in Texas, 1,800 flights canceled, at least 6 dead as winter storm sweeps US
An ice storm warning was in effect until Thursday morning in parts of north and central Texas, with mostly freezing rain and sleet expected in the area, the National Weather Service in Fort Worth warned. The weather service warned that “significant” icing is expected, with accumulations reaching up to one-half inch.
Some winter storm warnings were set to lift by noon on Wednesday, the weather service said.
But power outages and tree damage were still likely due to ice in the area, and officials warned that drivers should keep an extra flashlight, food and water in in their vehicles.
The Lone Star freeze of 2021
This isn't the first time Texas has been slammed with freezing rain and mass outages.
In February 2021, winter weather brought record freezing temperatures to the state, left 4 million customers without electricity and almost half the state's 29 million people under boil water advisories.
At least 210 people died during the outages and freezing weather.
Texas death toll from freeze: Death toll from Texas February snowstorm climbs to 210, state officials say
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas power outage map: Austin, Travis County, state
