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In Pictures: Subfreezing cold sweeps through Texas

Rare snowfall across Texas has closed airports and left four million without power, with another storm on the way.

A boy walks up a snow-covered hill after sledding down it in a box, in Houston, Texas, the United States. [Mark Felix/AFP]
Published On 16 Feb 202116 Feb 2021
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Officials say a frigid blast of winter weather across the United States is likely to blame for the deaths of two people in Texas as temperatures dropped into the single digits Fahrenheit (-22C), and snow shut down air travel and grocery stores.

More than four million people were without power Monday evening after surging demand was driven by people trying to keep their homes warm, and cold weather knocked some power stations offline and pushed Texas’s system beyond its limits.

After a facility storing 8,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine in Houston lost power, health officials hurriedly worked to distribute it before it expired at the same time authorities were pleading for people to stay home.

Texas law enforcement reported that two men were found dead along Houston-area roadways. Causes of death were pending, but officials said the subfreezing temperatures were likely to blame.

The toll of the worsening conditions included setbacks in the delivery of new COVID-19 vaccine shipments, which were expected to be delayed until at least midweek.

Several cities in the US saw record lows as Arctic air remained over the central part of the country. In Minnesota, the Chisholm-Hibbing weather station registered -39C (-38F), while Sioux Falls, South Dakota temperatures dropped to -32C (-26F).

In Kansas, where wind chills dropped to as low as -34C (-30F) in some areas, Governor Laura Kelly declared a state of disaster.

US President Joe Biden declared an emergency in Texas in a statement Sunday night. The declaration is intended to add federal aid to state and local response efforts.

People walk along a snow-covered street in Austin, Texas. Winter Storm Uri has brought historic cold weather to Texas, causing traffic delays and power outages. [Montinique Monroe/Getty Images/AFP]
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East Austin residents push a car out of the snow. The storm was part of a massive system that brought snow, sleet and freezing rain to the southern Plains and was spreading across the Ohio Valley and to the Northeast. [Montinique Monroe/Getty Images/AFP]
Francisco Sanchez wipes snow off his car with a boogie board before going out sledding with his kids at Memorial Park in El Paso, Texas. [Briana Sanchez/El Paso Times/USA Today Network via Reuters]
Megan Pennartz and her dog Jensen go sledding in Fort Worth, Texas. [Ron Jenkins/Getty Images/AFP]
Honey Russell shovels snow from her sidewalk in Fort Worth, Texas. [Ron Jenkins/Getty Images/AFP]
The traffic on I-35 Southbound 2021 in Austin, Texas. The delivery of new COVID-19 vaccine shipments is expected to be delayed. [Montinique Monroe/Getty Images/AFP]
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A truck drives past a highway sign in Houston, Texas. Law enforcement reported two men were found dead along Houston-area roadways, attributing their deaths to exposure to the cold. [David J. Phillip/AP Photo]
Military vehicles transport residents to designated warming centers in Abilene, Texas. [Greg Jaklewicz/Reporter-News/USA Today Network via Reuters]
People seeking shelter from below freezing temperatures rest inside a church warming center in Houston. [David J. Phillip/AP Photo]


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