Texas Governor Greg Abbott took preemptive steps yesterday by instructing the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to gear up for a potential weather onslaught this weekend, with East Texas bracing for severe storms that could bring tornadoes and heavy rainfall, while West Texas faces a heightened risk of wildfires due to gusty winds and low humidity levels, as reported by the office of the Governor of Texas.
With the President's Day weekend approaching, Abbott's call to action aims to buttress local efforts, ensuring readiness in the face of potential emergency situations and extending gratitude to the first responders and emergency management personnel who will be safeguarding Texans throughout this period, "Texas stands ready to support our local communities in East and West Texas as they brace for severe weather this weekend," Abbott stated in a declaration provided by his administration, as they keep a vigilant eye on the hazardous storm systems and increased wildfire threat across the state, this, as the National Weather Service forecasts point to a substantial arctic cold front that could sweep through Texas, causing temperatures to plummet and possibly leading to wintry precipitation by the middle of next week.
As part of the governor's directives, an array of state emergency resources has been mobilized, including swiftwater rescue boat squads from the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Texas A&M Task Force 1), various wildfire support teams comprising firefighters and aerial units from the Texas A&M Forest Service, and the Texas Department of State Health Services' emergency medical teams equipped for wildfire incidents, which are detailed in the notice from Governor Abbott's office.
Further standby support encompasses severe weather response assets ranging from medics and ambulances of the Texas Department of State Health Services to high-profile vehicles of the Texas Department of Transportation, rounding off with power outage oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Railroad Commission's watch over the natural gas supply, as noted, the state's comprehensive emergency game plan aims to mitigate the forthcoming meteorological tribulations by reinforcing connectivity amongst local officials, utility providers, and environmental monitoring agencies.
Residents are urged by state officials to stay alert, comply with local directives, outline emergency strategies, and assemble survival kits in preparation for the storms and wildfires; useful information can be obtained from Texas's emergency preparedness websites, such as weather safety at TexasReady.gov, roadway statuses at DriveTexas.org, flood data at TexasFlood.org, and miscellaneous disaster readiness tips at tdem.texas.gov/prepare.
