Winter weather: Williamson County emergency officials, warming shelters prepare

Williamson County emergency officials and warming shelters are finalizing preparations ahead of Monday night's bitter cold in Central Texas.

Warming center preparation

Shortly after Sunday morning church, the San Gabriel Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church cleared the sanctuary.

"Our values put love at the center," said Eric Hepburn, the lay minister at San Gabriel Unitarian Universalist. "We have a lot of unhoused and sheltered neighbors in Georgetown who don’t have a safe place to be when overnight temperatures are low, and so our work in that community calls us to open our doors when the overnight temperatures are dangerously low."

Seats are pushed aside to turn the church into a warming shelter until Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 9 a.m.

"The space you see behind me will be set up with cots so that we can have 15 of our neighbors in a safe warm place tonight."

Wilco emergency operations center

Williamson County Emergency Management also announced plans to open its emergency operations center ahead of the arctic blast.

"We all work in a central area in order to respond to any of the community needs, respond to resource requests, and provide a ground-level response to the weather event," said Ryan Sullivan, the deputy director of Wilco’s Emergency Management.

Road treatments

Emergency management is also already working with TxDOT to treat the roads.

"We are monitoring roadways very carefully, our road and bridge crews are working with their partners at TxDOT to pretreat any of our high overpasses and underpasses and any of our potentially hazardous roadways," said  Sullivan.

On Sunday, there was already brine at I-35 and University Avenue in Georgetown.

What's next:

Crews will be out Monday night monitoring road conditions. Until then, Sullivan asks the public to stay informed as they make decisions about how to stay warm.

What you can do:

With temperatures below freezing, bring your pets and plants inside, drip those faucets, and leave the cabinet doors open.

Track your local forecast for the Austin area quickly with the free FOX 7 WAPP. The design gives you radar, hourly, and 7-day weather information just by scrolling. Our weather alerts will warn you early and help you stay safe during storms.

The Source: Information in this report comes from reporting by FOX 7 Austin's Lauren Rangel.

Winter WeatherWilliamson County