Texas Can Handle Snow, It's the Cold That's Too Much

I’ve lived in North Texas all 46 of my years and have never seen snow like this on the ground right now. The snow part is actually incredible! It’s a soft powder, much different than the ice and slush we typically get.

The temperatures though? We’ve had -14° wind chills. That is definitely NOT normal.

three teens and a goldendoodle standing in the snow

For all you Northerners talking about how you’ve had it worse, don’t forget that your state is also equipped for this. Texas is not.

Texas Was not built for cold

Millions are completely without power. Most of us are having rolling blackouts (we’re currently 30-45 minutes off/30-45 off).

Some are fortunate enough to live close enough to hospitals or first responders, so they don’t experience the outages.

We don’t have snow plows, shovels, or other “snow related” resources.

toddler standing in snow with socks on hands

Quite honestly, most of us don’t even own proper coats. We don’t need them here.

To go outside, we layer up in pajama pants, sweat pants, jeans, etc… and lots of shirts. Scarfs aren’t even a common thing. We have 2 in a house of 10 people.

Gloves? Again, we maybe have 4 pair to share.

Our houses are built to repel heat due to our hot summers. We don’t have the same insulation, windows, wrapped lines, anything like what is required in more colder states.

Our water lines aren’t buried far under ground. Nothing in our infrastructure is designed for frigid weather.

So, it’s not the cold or the snow that’s the issue here, it’s the fact that our state is not “winterized” and can’t handle this historic winter storm.

My understanding is Texas is the only state that doesn’t share resources with others. We can’t call up New Mexico or Louisiana and ask them to share some electricity. That “Texas Pride” and all. One step closer to secession and no federal regulations.

Our power grids are not able to handle the amount of heat needed to keep everyone warm.

For reference, it was colder in Dallas yesterday than it was in Anchorage, Alaska!

Please be gentle and encouraging in your words to us in Texas right now. We’re genuinely struggling to keep our families safe and fed.

Keep the advice coming and we’ll be sure to do the same when y’all hit the 100°+ temps in the summer.