A powerful winter storm unlike anything seen in 31 years, when temperatures fell to 6 degrees in San Antonio, left a thick carpet of snow on top of a layer of ice across San Antonio and the Hill Country on Monday.
As bad as the storm was, even greater dangers loomed after dusk and into today, when the radiant heat of the sun no longer melts ice from roofs and roads and when temperatures nose-dive, turning slush into deadly ice.
The National Weather Service said temperatures were expected to plunge by this morning to as low as 7 degrees in North Bexar County and 9 in the south toward Pleasanton. The wind chill factor would make it feel worse, as if it’s 5 to 10 degrees below zero.
“Sunlight and traffic melted the snow on many roads Monday afternoon, but it will refreeze as hard, slippery ice. Roadways will be treacherous Tuesday morning,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.
“Don’t travel until temperatures rise above freezing if you can avoid it. Please exercise extreme caution if you must leave home,” he added. “In addition to icy conditions, the extreme cold is dangerous. Stay indoors if possible.”
San Antonians awakened Monday to see 3 to 6 inches of powdery snow and to feel bitter cold that shattered record low temperatures not seen in the Alamo City since Dec. 22, 1989.
As the day began, temperatures dropped to 9 degrees at San Antonio International Airport, with wind chill readings that were well below zero. Anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow fell across San Antonio and a wide swath of South-Central Texas from near east of Eagle Pass to Austin. But in some parts of the Hill Country, it was even higher — 6 to 7 inches of snow piled up.
Parts of San Antonio covered in snow as seen from aerial footage.
Courtesy of Bart S. Taylor
Daisy Gomez, 24, rides a deflated tube down South Ellison Drive in the Heritage neighborhood, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021.
Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News
A lone person walks early Monday morning, Feb. 15, 2021 on a blanket of snow on Alamo Street towards Houston Street.
William Luther
The Alamo is seen early Monday morning, Feb. 15, 2021 behind a layer of snow. The National Weather Service reported Tuesday morning that San Antonio and surrounding areas saw 3-5 inches of snow and some pockets of the forecast area saw 6-7 inches of snow. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has also declared the highest level of energy emergency and is requiring rolling blackouts throughout Texas. The National Weather Service reports the areas temperatures are the coldest since 1989.
William Luther
Reagan Sparrow, 3, makes a snow castle, with a sand castle pail, as she plays in the snow with her parents and their dogs, Beau, center, and Cooper, outside their home in San Antonio on Feb. 15, 2021.
Lisa Krantz/Staff photographer
Olivia Zapata, 15, in front, and her brother, Josiah, 18, play in the snow at the Heritage Duck Pond Park, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021.
Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News
A lone person walks early Monday morning, Feb. 15, 2021 on a snow-covered Houston Street in downtown San Antonio. The National Weather Service reported Tuesday morning San Antonio and surrounding areas saw 3-5 inches of snow and some pockets of the forecast area saw 6-7 inches of snow. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has also declared the highest level of energy emergency and is requiring rolling blackouts throughout Texas. The National Weather Service reports the areas temperatures are the coldest since 1989.
William Luther
Snow blankets the steps of the Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on Houston Street in downtown San Antonio. The National Weather Service reported Tuesday morning San Antonio and surrounding areas saw 3-5 inches of snow and some pockets of the forecast area saw 6-7 inches of snow. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has also declared the highest level of energy emergency and is requiring rolling blackouts throughout Texas. The National Weather Service reports the areas temperatures are the coldest since 1989.
William Luther
Parts of San Antonio covered in snow as seen from aerial footage.
Courtesy of Bart S. Taylor
Josie Lopez, 13, rides a snowboard down a hill at the Heritage Duck Pond Park, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021.
Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News
The figure of James Bonham on the Alamo Cenotaph is covered in snow early Monday morning, Feb. 15, 2021. The National Weather Service reported Tuesday morning that San Antonio and surrounding areas saw 3-5 inches of snow and some pockets of the forecast area saw 6-7 inches of snow. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has also declared the highest level of energy emergency and is requiring rolling blackouts throughout Texas. The National Weather Service reports the areas temperatures are the coldest since 1989.
William Luther
Umair Iqbal enjoys the snow, the most he has ever seen, early Monday morning, Feb. 15, 2021, in San Antonio.
Lisa Krantz/Staff photographer
Georgina Rodriguez watches the snow fall late Sunday night, Feb. 14, 2021, in San Antonio.
Lisa Krantz/Staff photographer
Carmen Rodriguez, 12, attempts to make a snow person with her mother, Georgina Rodriguez, late Sunday night, Feb. 14, 2021, in San Antonio.
Lisa Krantz/Staff photographer
Saul Cortez shovels snow from the sidewalk in front of his home in the Harmony Hills neighborhood on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, after inches of snow fell overnight. He said that he is from New Jersey, where the snow that fell in San Antonio would be considered a mild annoyance.
Billy Calzada
Daniell Sparrow puts Cooper, one of the family's dogs, in the wagon with her daughter, Reagan Sparrow, 3, upon Reagan's request for Cooper to ride with her, in San Antonio on Feb. 15, 2021. Cooper quickly jumped out of the wagon before the ride began.
Lisa Krantz/Staff photographer
Georgina Rodriguez, 13, runs away from her freshly made snow angel to not disturb it late Sunday night, Feb. 14, 2021, in San Antonio.
Lisa Krantz/Staff photographer
Carmen Rodriguez, 12, from left, her sister, Georgina Rodriguez, 13, and Gaby Gonzales, 13, make snow angels in their neighbor's driveway late Sunday night, Feb. 14, 2021, in San Antonio.
Lisa Krantz/Staff photographer
Nathanial Hernandez, 7, gets into a snowball fight with his family in the Heritage neighborhood, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021.
Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News
Samuel Martinez, 8, rides his motor bike through the snow near the Hayes Street Bridge 15, 2021. Temperatures dropped to record lows Sunday night and will stay dangerously low Monday night as well.
Jessica Phelps/San Antonio Express-News
Amy Maltos, 18, walks her dog, Sora, in the Villages of Westcreek subdivision of far Northwest San Antonio, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. About 3 to 5 inches of snow fell in San Antonio, and more piled up in the Hill Country.
Jerry Lara /Staff photographer
Georgina Rodriguez, 13, runs to make snow angels with her sister, Carmen Rodriguez, 12, left, and Gaby Gonzales, 13, late Sunday night, Feb. 14, 2021, in San Antonio.
Lisa Krantz/Staff photographer
Georgina Rodriguez and her daughter, Carmen Rodriguez, 12, walk to a neighbor's home late Sunday night, Feb. 14, 2021, in San Antonio.
Lisa Krantz/Staff photographer
Georgina Rodriguez, 13, runs through the snow late Sunday night, Feb. 14, 2021, in San Antonio.
Lisa Krantz/Staff photographer
Figures on the Alamo Cenotaph are covered in snow early Monday morning, Feb. 15, 2021. The National Weather Service reported Tuesday morning that San Antonio and surrounding areas saw 3-5 inches of snow and some pockets of the forecast area saw 6-7 inches of snow. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has also declared the highest level of energy emergency and is requiring rolling blackouts throughout Texas. The National Weather Service reports the areas temperatures are the coldest since 1989.
William Luther
An Alamo security guard talks early Monday morning, Feb. 15, 2021 with people coming to look at the blanket of snow covering the Alamo. The National Weather Service reported Tuesday morning San Antonio and surrounding areas saw 3-5 inches of snow and some pockets of the forecast area saw 6-7 inches of snow. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has also declared the highest level of energy emergency and is requiring rolling blackouts throughout Texas. The National Weather Service reports the areas temperatures are the coldest since 1989.
William LutherThe high Monday barely reached freezing and then started a downhill slide into the 20s, making certain that the snow and ice already on the ground would remain not only into today but also Wednesday.
Arctic air will deliver single-digit temperatures by this morning throughout South-Central Texas, with the mercury expected to hit 2 degrees in San Marcos, 4 degrees in Kerrville, 8 degrees in Uvalde, and 15 degrees in Eagle Pass and Del Rio.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff called the cold blast “dangerous days for sure” and discouraged people from driving unless they absolutely have to go somewhere.
The deep freeze will be compounded later today by icy rain starting at night and continuing into Wednesday, when highs will reach the upper 40s before overnight temperatures tumble back into the 20s, bringing yet another hard freeze.
The Alamo is seen early Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, after 3 to 5 inches of snow fell overnight. The Alamo was closed because of the bitter cold and snow.
William Luther /Staff photographerWeather conditions will look similar Thursday, with a high of 40 and a low of 23.
Compounding the cold were rolling power outages caused in part by the state’s overtaxed electricity grid system. To conserve power, CPS Energy began controlled outages at 1:30 a.m. Monday. But the utility said that if an outage lasted longer than 15 minutes, it likely was part of a separate outage, not related to a rolling blackout. As of 4:45 p.m. Monday, the utility had 327 outages affecting 202,155 customer accounts, about 23 percent of its total accounts, according to its website.
In some cases, electricity would snap on briefly and be lost again. At one home in the Great Northwest Silver Creek subdivision, a resident said she hadn’t had power for more than eight minutes an hour throughout the afternoon.
Still, parts of the Lone Star State fared even worse.
Roy Ferguson, a state district court judge for an area that includes Brewster, Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis and Presidio counties, said in a tweet after noon Monday that far West Texas — including all of the Big Bend area — would be without power for more than 24 hours, including throughout Monday night.
“Plus, no cell service or water,” he added.
There were fewer problems on San Antonio roads than some might have expected, perhaps because many overpasses and bridges were closed. Police Lt. Jesse Salame said the number of accidents Monday appeared to be significantly lower than average.
Altogether, 1,178 crash calls for service had been logged from 9 p.m. Saturday through 3:30 p.m. Monday, but some likely were duplicate calls.
Thirteen San Antonio police vehicles were damaged. One patrolman badly injured in a weather-related accident, Officer Travis Gossett, was listed in stable condition at University Hospital, but Salame said his injuries were significant.
A two-year veteran, he was on foot and attempting to direct traffic in the main lanes of U.S. 281 North at Brook Hollow when he was struck by a vehicle about 2:20 a.m. Sunday.
“He’s got a long road to recovery, but he’s a real healthy and strong guy,” Salame said.
The number of calls went down significantly Sunday night and into Monday. Police fielded about 100 for weather-related accidents from 3 p.m. to midnight Sunday and had taken an additional 30 calls since, Salame said.
The icy weather contributed to two fatal traffic accidents Sunday. One was at 6:30 a.m. in the 3800 block of northbound Interstate 35, and the other was at 1:22 p.m. on an overpass on O’Conner Road at Weidner.
Sheriff Javier Salazar said a 78-year-old man was found dead in the front yard of a home on the Northwest Side. Authorities believe that the man, who was leaving home for an appointment, fell. He was later found dead by EMTs.
No foul play was suspected, Salazar said. While it has not been confirmed that the man’s death was related to the weather, “it is safe to say weather contributed,” Salazar said.
San Antonio firefighters responded to two accidents and two structure fires, but spokesman Joe Arrington said the biggest call volume had been for falls, with more than 30 reported late Sunday once ice formed on paved areas. He warned people to be careful when out in the snow because of the icy surface below.
VIA Metropolitan Transit announced just after noon Monday that it had temporarily suspended all bus, VIAtrans and VIA Link service until further notice while roads and highways remain closed or unsafe for travel.
Many schools, universities and businesses were closed Monday, some for the Presidents Day holiday but also for the inclement weather. Dozens of flights to and from San Antonio International Airport were delayed or canceled Monday, and all are canceled today as well.
Wolff, who estimated that 5 inches of snow fell on the Northwest Side area where he lives, called the winter storm a historic event, comparable to the great snow decades ago when the white stuff lasted three, four or even five days.
“It’s absolutely beautiful out there,” he said. “Of course, it’s a really, really exciting period of time for young kids. My two youngest grandkids, they took them outside and they were laying in the snow doing the angel thing with their legs.
“It’s a winter wonderland that they will hardly see, maybe once or twice in a lifetime down here.”
ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863
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Big snow, record low temperatures set stage for icy week - San Antonio Express-News
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