Houston freeze updates: Nearly 1,000 freezing bats rescued from Pearland bridge

Aug 06, 2023

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Ice accumulates on the fountain at Bob Smith Park in downtown Houston ices the area as temperatures remain below freezing on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.

A rainbow is seen as water shoots from a main sprinkler water line that bursted along Northpark Drive after freezing temperatures, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Kingwood.

Konnor Knox, left, and his brother, Killian, wear dinosaur pajamas alongside their mother, "They're just fun and most importantly, they're warm," Ashley Knox said of the family's attire in the 25-degree, windy weather.

Line crews work on a transformer that was hit by a metro bus, creating a power outage, on Washington and Montrose on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 in Houston.

A bench downwind from the fountain at Bob Smith Park in downtown Houston is covered in ice as temperatures remain below freezing on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.

Brandi Forbes quickly gathers groceries for a Christmas party in 14-degree, windy weather, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Conroe."I thought I left this kind of weather when I moved from Chicago," Forbes said. "Good thing I didn't toss all my warm clothes."

Jennifer Clowe warms her hands and face in 14-degree weather as she waits for a Conroe Connection bus to take her to work, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Conroe.

Ice accumulates on the fountain at Bob Smith Park in downtown Houston ices the area as temperatures remain below freezing on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.

Water shoots up from the corner of Shepherd and I-10 as temperatures remain below freezing on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 in Houston.

A puddle of water and ice on North Shepherd remain from a broken water main as temperatures remain below freezing on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 in Houston.

Tree branches downwind from the fountain at Bob Smith Park is coated in ice as temperatures remain below freezing on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 in Houston.

Ground cover downwind from the fountain at Bob Smith Park is coated in ice as temperatures remain below freezing on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 in Houston.

A man jogs bundled up along the parking lot at Carl Barton Jr. Park in 14-degree weather, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Conroe.

Line crews work on a transformer that was hit by a metro bus, creating a power outage, on Washington and Montrose on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 in Houston.

Apartments without power sit in the shadow of Houstonâs skylines as line crews work on a transformer that was hit by a metro bus on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 in Houston.

The sunrises behind the Houston skyline as residents wake up to below freezing temperatures on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 in Houston.

Using a Red Cross blanket, a person sleeps at the emergency warming center opened at George R. Brown Convention Center on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022 in Houston. The city plans to keep the warming center, which has chairs, no cots, open until Saturday.

The emergency warming center at George R. Brown Convention Center on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022 in Houston. The city plans to keep the warming center, which has chairs, no cots, open until Saturday.

An employee with the Houston Health Dept., passes out water to people using the emergency warming center at George R. Brown Convention Center on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022 in Houston. The city plans to keep the warming center, which has chairs, no cots, open until Saturday.

A dog named "Momma Dog" stays with its owner in an emergency warming center at George R. Brown Convention Center on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022 in Houston. The city plans to keep the warming center, which has chairs, no cots, open until Saturday.

Health Dept. employees work at the George R. Brown Convention Center before it is opened up for a warming station on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022 in Houston. The city plans to keep the warming center, which has chairs, no cots, open until Saturday.

Rhonda Gwynn from Calgary waits to hear about her reservation status on WestJet Airlines at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022 in Houston. Gwynn, who is making her way back home from Ecuador, had two reservations, including her husband's buddy pass. When she went to check in, her reservation was missing and she has not been able to get a hold of the airline.

Traverlers make their way in Terminal A at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022 in Houston.

John Davis Sapp, with Conroe's Park and Recreation Department, works to cover a planter with begonia and purple and white angelonia plants in front of the Crighton Theater, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, in Conroe. "Most of these plants should make it, but others you do what you can and hope for the best," Sapp said. "The rain will let up before the worse of it gets here, so it doesn't look like conditions will be as bad as last year's freeze. Still, you still prepare the same. Things can change quickly." A cold front forecasted to sweep across Texas could plunge temperatures in and around Houston into the 20s or lower, the National Weather Service said. A forecast predicting very cold temperatures on the night of Thursday, Dec. 22 into the following morning. The sub-freezing could last through Christmas Day on Sunday.

Deondria Williams receives a coat as the Star of Hope's team members distribute blankets and coats from the "Love In Action" van ahead of the arctic cold front Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Houston. Deondria said she will be going to the George R. Brown warming center tomorrow.

Chauncey Jefferson loads oak wood into the back of his four-wheeler, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Conroe. "I’m coming back for two or three truck loads of this wood," Jefferson said. "It's good wood, burns through the night and keeps you warm. We’re going to need it with how cold it's about to get." A cold front forecasted to sweep across Texas could plunge temperatures in and around Houston into the 20s or lower, the National Weather Service said. A forecast predicting very cold temperatures on the night of Thursday, Dec. 22 into the following morning. The sub-freezing could last through Christmas Day on Sunday.

Jennifer Marino, left, and Elizabeth Salas, center, both Hermann Park Conservancy staff gardeners, staple two pieces of frost cloth together as staff and volunteers work to cover plants in the perennial border at the McGovern Centennial Gardens Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Houston.

LaVontrea Henry King bundles up in the cold as he walks downtown on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022 in Houston. A cold front forecasted to sweep across Texas could plunge temperatures in and around Houston into the 20s or lower, the National Weather Service said. A forecast predicting very cold temperatures on the night of Thursday, Dec. 22 into the following morning. The sub-freezing could last through Christmas Day on Sunday..

The FlowWorks exhibit outside the Children's Museum Houston is seen frozen over after the acrtic blast moved through the region on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. The Museum is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday but the courtyard is closed due to icy conditions, a representative with the museum said.

More than 100 bats were found freezing and falling under Waugh Street Bridge in Houston Friday, December 23, 2022.

Houston is grappling with its third day of freezing temperatures, causing serious travel delays and other snafus as what many meteorologists called an incredibly rare winter storm blows through Texas.

The Chronicle continues coverage of the winter weather, which has led to a hard freeze for many parts of the region.

Hundreds of bats have been rescued by the Houston Humane Society after falling from a small bridge in Pearland due to freezing temperatures.

It's the second big rescue this week, after 130 bats were found freezing and lying on the ground under Waugh Street Bridge.

Mary Warwick, wildlife director at the Houston Humane Society, picked up the Pearland bats and took them in for rehabilitation after getting a call from staff members at the Delores Fenwick Nature Center. They are Mexican free-tailed bats, the same kind living at the Waugh Street Bridge.

"The ones that are super healthy we are going to put them in an enclosure where they can hang," Warwick said.."Once the weather warms back up on Wednesday, we can release them. Any of them that appear sick — maybe they got dehydrated or have some kind of injury — we're sorting them out and they will stay in rehab for longer."

Another batch of around 50 bats from the Waugh Street Bridge has been rescued, as well.

"As we're sorting, when one bat starts to flutter and fly, then just like in the colony, they all start to," Warwick said. "So we have to be on the lookout for them. We've chased a few bats through my house today."

To make room for more bats in the cold days ahead, some of the ailing Pearland bats will be transported to Bat World, a sanctuary in Weatherford, Texas.

For now, Warwick is hoping to find some time to celebrate the holidays, too.

"My goal is just to get all these guys sorted and ready so I can maybe enjoy a little bit of Christmas Eve tonight," Warwick said. "But these guys are so cute. Every last one of them is adorable."

-Jen Rice

Thousands of Houston families have gathered at the George R. Brown Convention Center to enjoy a free hot meal at the Christmas Eve Super Feast. Among those working the food serving line around noon was Mayor Sylvester Turner, who came by to greet volunteers and attendees.

Organized by a nonprofit called City Wide Club, the massive food distribution event prepared meals for about 25,000 Houstonians and set up a sit-down dining area for families. The food station featured two dozen trays filled with holiday delicacies such as Macaroni and cheese, pumpkin pies, turkey, and corn.

This is the 44th time that the feast took place in Houston. Right now, the George R. Brown Convention Center is serving as the city's biggest warming center, accommodating more than 800 people seeking shelter from the freezing temperatures. Many who were staying at the warming center located at a different hall also came for the sit-down meals.

"I want to thank you for the dynamic timing of this Super Feast," Turner said to volunteers and partners. "We've had a freeze this week when a lot of our homeless persons have come inside, which I'm very grateful for, and then to culminate it with the Super Feast on this morning, that's nothing but God working in a miraculous way."

-Yilun Cheng

The grid's reliability this week has depended on power generators, many of which were unable to produce power during the February 2021 freeze, reports Shelby Webb.

It appeared there were few outages among generators Thursday night and Friday, which Alison Silverstein, an Austin-based energy consultant who has worked for the Public Utility Commission of Texas — which oversees ERCOT — and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, credited to the lack of snow and ice and recent efforts to protect facilities from cold.

ERCOT officials said Saturday afternoon it would continue to closely monitor and that it expected enough power generation to meet demand.

-Shelby Webb and Hannah Dellinger

Warming shelters at Fondé Community Center and Moody Community Center will close Saturday, the City of Houston announced.

Metro buses will transport people using those centers to George R. Brown Convention Center, which will remain open along with the Acres Homes warming center.

Around 320 people were taking shelter at GRB Saturday morning and 29 at Acres Homes. There were 53 people at the Fonde center, 50 at Moody, 45 at Lakewood Church, 85 at Green House International Church and eight at Houston Recovery Center, according to the city. GRB is also hosting the holiday Super Feast feeding event Saturday for about 5,000 people.

-Hannah Dellinger

Despite fears that rolling outages might be needed as electricity demand exceeded expectations, very few Texans lost electricity overnight, outage trackers show.

By Saturday morning in Houston, there were just 180 active outages, according to CenterPoint Energy. More than 1,370 outages were restored by the energy provider in the last 24 hours. That's down considerably from the 17,000 reported Friday morning.

In other parts of the state, outages were less than 7 percent of customers in a handful of counties.

Houston will see another frigid day Saturday, with temperatures in the upper 30s and wind chill values struggling to climb above freezing.

A hard freeze warning and wind chill advisory will be in effect Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service. On Christmas Day, there will be clear skies with temperatures in the upper 40s and wind chill below freezing until around noon. Sunday's lows will be in the low to mid 30s.

Around 24 flights set to arrive at George Bush Intercontinental Airport today were canceled, according to FlightAware, which tracks cancellations. Sixteen flights scheduled to depart Bush Saturday were canceled, accounting for about 3 percent of all departing flights.

-Hannah Dellinger

The U.S. Department of Energy late Friday night announced it had given some Texas power plants permission to run at "maximum generation output levels" after receiving an emergency request from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

In a letter sent to the federal agency, ERCOT, the state's non-profit grid operator, said demand had unexpectedly reached an all-time winter demand record of about 74,000 megawatts Friday morning, and that generator failures had pushed the grid to the brink.

Specifically, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas wrote that there were about 11,000 megawatts of outages among thermal generators that use coal and natural gas as fuel, 4,000 megawatts among wind generators and 1,700 megawatts of solar units that were "outaged or derated" due to the freezing weather. The letter said it expected most of the units to come back online before peak demand on Saturday.

If they don't, "it is possible that ERCOT may need to curtail some amount of firm load [Friday] evening, tomorrow morning, or possibly tomorrow evening or Sunday morning, in order to maintain the security of the ERCOT system," Vegas wrote.

ERCOT asked the federal agency for permission to run still-operating power plants at maximum power and take emergency measures. The department granted the request, which gives permission for power generators to deviate from federal emissions laws.

The order, signed by Kathleen Hogan, the DOE's undersecretary for infrastructure, gives Texas generators the ability to operate at higher outputs if all other options are exhausted, according to the letter.

The emergency order will require ERCOT to provide detailed reporting to DOE and completion of a post incident Special Environmental Analysis, according to the energy department.

— Shelby Webb, John Wayne Ferguson

With another night of frigid temperatures on tap, the city of Houston is asking for residents' help in finding burst pipes.

In a tweet Friday night, the city's office of emergency management asked people to call the 3-1-1 help and information line to report the location and size of leaks around the city.

#Houston the freeze has likely caused pipes to burst and the increased demand for water could stress the system. If you spot a water leak, please call 3-1-1 to provide information. What to report to 3-1-1 agents: 💧The location of leak 💧The size of leak pic.twitter.com/DK1s4Am32A

It wasn't clear how many leaks had already been reported around the city. A water leak on the southwest side Thursday night caused a road to ice over and lead to a crash.

The temperature at Bush Intercontinental Airport was 26 degrees at 9:30 p.m. and was expected to drop to a low of 22 degrees.

— John Wayne Ferguson

Creatures great and small got a helping hand on Friday as volunteers worked to make sure they survive the arctic blast.

In Houston, more than 100 bats were collected from under the Waugh Street bridge after they fell from their roosts. Down on the coast, volunteers patrolled frigid shorelines looking for cold-stunned turtles.

Just in from the turtle folks: The sea friend rescued from Surfside. More turtles expected to wash up tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/qrOsYdEZLb

While most Texas animals aren't used to sub-freezing temperatures, at least one beast seemed to be enjoying itself: a llama at the Houston Zoo.

"Our llama Fiesta seemed like she was having a great time today," said Kevin Hodge, the zoo's vice president of animal programs. "She didn't even notice it was cold."

While all the animals are doing fine, the zoo will remain closed on Saturday because of the cold weather.

Twitter

— John Wayne Ferguson

The Fort Bend County city of Weston Lakes on Friday night became the latest city to issue a boil water notice because of the cold.

The city on Friday night reported that both its utility companies, MUD 81 and Aqua Texas, had power-related issues that caused pumps at several locations to go offline, resulting in pipes freezing at those facilities, according to a news release.

Crews were working to fix the problems, according to the statement. The city expected full service to be restored on Friday night.

At least three municipal districts in the Houston suburbs have issued boil water notices to communities with low water pressure. They include Montgomery County's Flamingo Lakes neighborhood, Fort Bend County's Willow Creek Farms Municipal Utility District and Fulshear MUD 3A.

— John Wayne Ferguson

Readers wrote in asking about turning the water to their home off and on again.

One way to avoid frozen pipes is to turn the water to your home off and flush the pipes by running faucets until they're dry and flushing toilets until they're out of water, according to Joe Bany, director of field operations and responsible master plumber at John Moore Services . (Hint: You can still fill the bathtub so you'll have some water and you could flush the toilet by adding a small bucket of water to force it to flush)

If you choose to off the water to your home, you can simply turn it off and live without running water until the fear of freeze has passed, Bany said. That's not a great option, so more livable way to do it is to shut off the water and drain the pipes when you go to bed at night. When you get up in the morning, turn the water back on and leave faucets dripping or flush toilets and run water occasionally. Then do it all over again when you go to bed at night.

For those who don't know how to do it, you'll find the water shut-off valve at the pipe where it enters your home or at valves where your pipes connect to the city's water system. This is often in a box in your yard not far from the curb. They can be difficult to turn; an easy solution is to use a water shut-off key, which should cost less than $10 and can be found at most hardware stores. (They're also called "curb keys" or "curb box keys.")

The point is to not leave water sitting idle in your pipes — that's when it's more likely to freeze, then pipes can rupture and when they thaw, cause water damage to your home.

If you're leaving your home for a few days, go ahead and turn the water off, then restore it when you're back home, he said.

— Diane Cowen

A handful of Texas energy companies on Friday night issued public statements asking their customers to conserve electricity and gas.

Just after 5 p.m., five companies — Reliant, Green Mountain Energy, Stream Energy, Cirro Energy and XOOM Energy — all sent emails or public Twitter posts asking people to reduce energy use by limiting the use of large appliances. All five companies are owned by NRG.

Your help is needed due to the low temperatures expected throughout Texas. Please help reduce your usage by limiting the use of large appliances. Visit https://t.co/nfC0nZiqoc for tips and tools to conserve.

Most of the messages asked people to conserve power between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.

No details were given for the companies' request. As of 6 p.m., ERCOT had not issued any power conservation alerts. NRG didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

With low temperatures expected throughout Texas, your help is needed to conserve energy. Please help reduce your usage by limiting the use of large appliances. Get tips and tools to conserve.

At 6 p.m., CenterPoint Energy sent out a message to customers, asking them to conserve natural gas because of record demand on its system.

"Our natural gas system is operating well under these extreme circumstances," said Tal Centers, CenterPoint Energy's vice president, Texas Gas in a statement. "As everyone is trying to keep warm, we are experiencing record usage of natural gas and in order to prevent service interruptions, we ask our customers to conserve energy at this time."

CenterPoint asked people to pay particular attention to their pool heaters and encouraged people to keep pumps on without running a heater to keep their pools from freezing.

— John Wayne Ferguson

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas missed on its predictions for electricity demand on Thursday night and Friday morning, but the state's electric grid operator said it expected to have enough generation to keep the grid stable through the weekend.

At peak demand around 8 a.m. Friday, Texans used 73,963 megawatts, enough electricity to power nearly 14.8 million homes.

That is nearly 4,000 megawatts more than ERCOT officials predicted, and at times late Thursday and early Friday, ERCOT's demand forecasts were off by more than 10,000 megawatts, or enough power for about 2 million homes.

ERCOT officials were not able to comment on the amount of power the grid would need Friday night, but the grid won't have the same amount of wind power available as when the cold front blew through overnight Thursday. At one point early Thursday evening, wind accounted for almost 36 percent of all power available on the grid.

— John Wayne Ferguson

A number of Houstonians are without electricity, and while some residents are blaming the power grid, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is arguing the contrary.

Abbott said the grid is "working well" based on a graph he attached to a tweet he posted Thursday night.

"Texans are cold and some are wondering about the power grid," Abbot's tweet said.

Based on the graph, Abbott determined that there was more than 20,000 megawatts of extra capacity available at that time.

Embed:

Texans are cold & some are wondering about the power grid.Below is a current graph showing the grid working well. The green line is the current power demand, the purple is the current extra power capacity. There's more than 20,000 MW of extra capacity available at this time pic.twitter.com/9UtZgx8UU6

In an earlier tweet Thursday, Abbott said "the Texas power grid continues to operate without issue as temperatures drop across our state."

Embed:

The Texas power grid continues to operate without issue as temperatures drop across our state.If you are experiencing an outage, please report it to your local electricity provider. Monitor and report local outages using @PUCTX's Storm Resources page: https://t.co/VPtFfmil6S

— Jonathan Limehouse

If you received a text from CenterPoint Energy warning about rotating power outages, delete it and don't click the link it was sent with, the company said on Friday.

An unknown person is sending texts that pretend to be from CenterPoint. The link is malicious and the text message should be deleted immediately, the company said.

Rotating outages are not expected Friday night, and ERCOT officials said late Friday they expect there to be enough generation to meet demand throughout the weekend.

While ERCOT did have to call upon more than 12,000 megawatts of reserve power to meet demand early Friday morning, the grid never entered emergency conditions and never asked utility providers to rotate outages.

— Shelby Webb

More than 100 bats that roost under the Waugh Street Bridge on Friday were found frozen and lying the ground Thursday, according to the Houston Humane Society.

The humane society on Friday was working to collect and save bats that were still clinging to life, officials said.

More than 100 bats were found freezing and falling under Waugh Street Bridge in Houston Friday, December 23, 2022.

An estimated 250,000 bats lives under the bridge during the near, though the population shrinks during the winter, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

It's not the first time bats have been killed by cold weather. Around 2,000 bats were killed by the 2021 freeze.

— John Wayne Ferguson

No temperature records have been broken so far as the arctic cold front permeates throughout Texas, but it might be almost a week before Houston heats up again, according to weather officials.

"By (next) Wednesday, we should have a fairly decent onshore flow returning by then so we could be looking at highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s and 60s for the rest of the week," Meteorologist Wendy Wong with the National Weather Service in Houston and Galveston said Friday.

Until next week, Houston residents can expect above freezing temperatures with highs in the 30s and possibly 40s, Wong said. During the nighttime is when the cold will affect the city the most as lows could drop to the 20s and teens, she said.

"Winds will be going down a little bit but they’re still going to be fairly strong (Friday night) so we could be in the lower teens," Wong stated.

"That's still pretty cold for the Houston area."

Christmas will be frigid with lows in the upper 20s and lower 30s, but the holiday won't be as cold as Christmas Eve which will have lows in the lower and mid 20s, according to Wong.

The arctic cold front had Houstonians bundled up and layered in jackets and blankets Thursday, but it isn't the coldest the city has been. The record for lowest temperatures in Houston was recorded in 1989 when the city reached 13 degrees at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and 15 degrees at William P. Hobby Airport, Wong said.

The lowest temperatures dropped on Thursday was 20 degrees at George Bush Intercontinental Airport and 22 degrees at William P. Hobby Airport, according to Wong.

The lack of precipitation Thursday and possibly throughout the rest of the week is something Housontians should be "very thankful" for because the rain could’ve made road and other conditions "a lot messier," Wong said.

"I’m a native Houstonian so I know we’re not used to living like this," she said.

— Jonathan Limehouse

Hundreds of holiday travelers trying to get on flights appeared to be stuck in line at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Twitter user John Gonzalez on Friday afternoon posted a video of hundreds of people standing in lint at the American Airlines help desk at the airport.

This is the line for the American help desk at DFW 👀 pic.twitter.com/fbPR0ub3kc

More than 4,400 U.S. flights were canceled Friday because of the winter storm that pummeled large parts of the country, according to Reuters. Another 2,700 flights were canceled on Thursday.

— John Wayne Ferguson

With an incredibly rare winter storm blowing through Texas, many residents have unboundedly found themselves with frozen water pipes.

If you were unable or forget to prevent your pipes from freezing, here is what to do, according to the American Red Cross:

—Ryan Nickerson

City officials announced plans to extend hours at two warming centers this weekend and close down two other locations tomorrow morning. The George R. Brown Convention Center and Acres Homes Multi-Service Center — which currently accommodate 799 and 47 people, respectively — will remain open until 9 a.m. Sunday, according to the mayor's office. At the same time, the Fonde Community Center and Moody Community Center — with 53 and 77 people staying there right now — will close their doors at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The city will transport people from these two warming centers to the George R. Brown Convention Center where they can seek shelter from the freezing temperatures for the weekend. On Sunday, individuals in need of transportation can call 311 and request METRO to take them to a location of their choice. So far, more than 1,000 people have checked in to Houston's five warming centers. Mayor Sylvester Turner requested this consolidation of services in order to better assist vulnerable Houstonians, his office said. All operating centers will continue to provide meals, water, blankets, chairs and other supplies to visitors.

— Yilun Cheng

A third community, and second in Fort Bend County, has issued a boil water notice for residents amid cold temperatures.

Residents living in the Fulshear Municipal Utility District 3A should boil water until the notice is suspended, according to the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management.

Willow Creek Farms MUD, which earlier Friday issued a boil water notice, supplies water for Fulshear's district, according to the county office. Because of cold temperatures, it can't provide water for the time being, officials said.

— Matt deGrood

Houston firefighters spent Friday battling a series of fires around the region.

When it gets colder, it's not unusual for the fire department to respond to a bigger number of fires, according to a spokesperson for the Houston Fire Department. The reason is because of issues related to heating homes, he said.

The fire department Tweeted Friday about responding to at least seven separate fires across the city.

Despite outages along the Bolivar Peninsula Friday morning, the Galveston Ferry continues to run with minimal wait times.

Around 10 a.m., two boats were in service with a minimal wait for both Galveston and Bolivar, according to the ferry's Twitter profile.

Two boats remain in service with a minimal wait in Galveston and a 30 minute wait in Bolivar, the ferry's Twitter account posted shortly before 11 a.m.

The ferry also kept two boats in service and operated with minimal waits Wednesday.

"We continue to monitor conditions as winter weather impacts the Galveston area," the ferry's Twitter posted Wednesday. "We stand ready to serve! If you get a chance, feel free to thank our deckhands and other staff as they work in these very cold temps."

— Jonathan Limehouse

The arctic air met the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston Island, producing a scene captured on Saltwater-Recon's Twitter page.

Twitter

A massive winter storm across much of the contiguous United States continued to bring travel misery to Houston's airports Friday, one of the busiest travel days of the year.

George Bush Intercontinental had seen 55 flights canceled and 170 delayed as of 11 a.m. Friday, according to data from the flight-tracking service FlightAware. At Hobby, there had been 30 cancellations and 82 delays.

As was the case Thursday–also one of the busiest travel days of the year–Houston travelers actually had it easy Friday, compared to Americans in many parts of the country.

Chicago's O’Hare International Airport, which saw hundreds of flights canceled Friday morning, led the nation on FlightAware's MiseryMap. Runner-up status went to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where freezing rain at one point closed all three of the airport's runways and more than 100 flights were canceled over the course of Friday morning.

All told, according to FlightAware, some 4,000 flights within, into or out of the United States had been canceled as of 11 a.m. Friday.

— Erica Grieder

At least two Houston region municipal districts have issued boil water notices Friday morning amid issues with low water pressure.

Residents in Fort Bend County's Willow Creek Farms Municipal Utility District should boil water after the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality urged the district to issue a notice after a drop in water pressure, according to the county's office of emergency management.

Houston television station KPRC has reported the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality was also advising residents in Montgomery County's Flamingo Lakes neighborhood to boil their water because of low water pressure.

Houston's water main system has not encountered any major incidents or emergencies, according to Erin Jones, a spokesperson for Houston Public Works. "We haven't had any increase in incidents," she said, adding that the current number of water leaks is on par with normal levels.

— Matt deGrood and Yilun Cheng

Pearland's public works department was receiving more calls this morning from customers without water, most likely from frozen pipes, officials said. Customers should shut off their water to avoid cracked pipes when the freeze thaws. Public works employees will shut off the water at the meter if a customer is having difficulty shutting off their water.

If a customer needs assistance, call 281-652-1900.

— Pooja Bhakta

Several areas in downtown appeared iced over early Friday morning, including the FlowWorks exhibit outside the Children's Museum Houston and the fountain at Bob Smith Park.

The museum is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday but the courtyard is closed due to icy conditions, a representative with the museum said.

More than 1,000 people were staying in warming shelters across the city of Houston, officials said Friday morning.

No one had reported any issues connected to the warming centers as of around 8:30 a.m. Friday, officials said.

According to Houston mayor Sylvester Turner's Office, more than 600 people had checked in at the George R. Brown Convention Center – by far the most populated warming center.

The Harris County Office of Emergency Management reached out to the city to report that the Leon Grayson Center hadn't been heating properly, according to the mayor's office. The 15 people staying there were moved to the George R. Brown Convention Center.

— Matt deGrood

It appears electricity use may have already peaked this morning. ERCOT reports 73,865 megawatts were being used just before 9 a.m., and generation has ramped up to provide 80,229 megawatts. One megawatt is enough to power 200 homes on a hot summer day.

Earlier this morning, ERCOT deployed 5,896 megawatts of reserves, according to public notices. There were more than 6,000 megawatts of reserve power on back up just before 9 a.m.

About 17,572 CenterPoint customers were without power, and 184,829 had power restored within the past 24 hours.

— Shelby Webb

The city of Baytown planned to close down its warming center at the community center because of a lack of need, officials said.

The city will close the center at 10 a.m., officials said. Anyone who has an issue with their water can call, 281-420-5300.

But elsewhere, Galveston County leaders planned to open a new warming center at High Island's gym on the Bolivar Peninsula because of reported power outages, officials said.

Entergy had restored power to many customers, but were still working to fully restore power, officials said.

— Matt deGrood

Energy company Entergy has suspended planned outages and disconnects through Jan. 3, as the region continues to grapple with freezing temperatures.

The New Orleans-based company services areas just north and east of Houston.

Customers with questions can call 1-800-368-3749, officials said.

— Matt deGrood

Most of Pearland remained with power as of Friday morning, except for a pocket of residents in the Southdown neighborhood, Mayor Kevin Cole said.

The city's water and wastewater services also continued operating as normal, he said.

— Matt deGrood

Searchers early Friday had been combing the beaches along Galveston in search of cold-stunned turtles that might have washed up on the shoreline, but had not found any after about 30 minutes of searching, officials said.

"No signs yet, but it is early," said Christopher Marshall, a professor of marine biology at Texas A&M University in Galveston.

The search came after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday asked people to look out for cold-stunned turtles that might have washed up on the shoreline.

Sea turtles cannot regulate their body temperature and at water temperatures below 50 degrees, they become immobilized, according to the agency.

Cold-stunned turtles are found primarily along the inshore areas, including canals, bays, estuaries and passes. The turtles float to the surface and often wash ashore due to strong prevailing northwest winds, the agency said.

If the stunned turtles are rescued quickly, they can be saved and released when temperatures increase, the agency said.

If you find a cold-stunned sea turtle, report it to the Texas Sea Turtle Hotline number at 1-866-TURTLE-5 (1-866-887-8535).

— Nicole Hensley

People across the region reported that water levels in Trinity and Galveston bays were at low levels Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service Houston-Galveston.

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That's because the strong north flow from the cold front also pushed down water levels, in addition to temperatures, according to meteorologists.

— Matt deGrood

Experts expect the demand for power in Texas should peak Friday morning.

And, as of around 7:30 a.m., power demand has started to tick up, rising to 74,061 megawatts. About 77,330 megawatts were bring produced by power generators. One megawatt is enough to power about 200 homes on a hot summer day.

ERCOT tapped into about 955 megawatts of reserve power just before 7 a.m.

Reserve power dipped to 4,855 megawatts, more than enough to handle demand but down from more than 8,000 megawatts just after midnight. ERCOT begins automatically taking action when less than 3,000 megawatts are on the grid and enters its lowest level of emergency alert when reserves reach below 2,300 megawatts and are not expected to recover for 30 minutes.

— Shelby Webb

A day after a massive winter storm hampered traffic through Houston's airports on one of the busiest travel days of the year, flights were already being cancelled and delayed Friday morning.

More than 28 flights had been cancelled as of 7:20 a.m. Friday at William P. Hobby Airport, along with another 42 at George Bush Intercontinental, as freezing temperatures are expected to linger into the weekend, according to data from the flight-tracking website FlightAware.

Both airports were also facing a combined 83 delays.

Houston wasn't alone in a piling number of delays and cancellations Friday morning, with airports across the country reporting more than 400 delays and 430 cancellations, according to the MiseryMap.

Friday's cancellations were already approaching the totals reported by Thursday afternoon.

— Matt deGrood

Residents across the region shouldn't expect much relief from frigid temperatures through Friday, as maximum wind chill values will struggle to leave the 20s, according to the National Weather Service Houston-Galveston.

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Wind chill values should again drop into single digits overnight Friday, officials said. People should remain indoors as much as possible and make sure all pets are also inside.

— Matt deGrood

Temperatures across the region dipped into the teens early Friday morning. But only around 500 active outages were reported across Houston as of 6:10 a.m. Friday, according to CenterPoint Energy.

The outages were affecting about 17,700 customers, according to the company. Crews had worked since the start of the storm on restoring power to more than 131,000 customers over the last 24 hours.

The reason for the outages wasn't given, but CenterPoint has said winds and downed branches could cause localized power outages. ERCOT, Texas’ electric grid operator, reported grid conditions were normal and the state's energy supply remained above projected demand.

Across Texas, about 77,500 homes and businesses were without power early Friday morning.

— Matt deGrood

Police closed Bellaire Boulevard between Baney Way and Kirkwood around 9:30 p.m. Thursday because a pipe burst and began spraying water over the road, officials said.

Water from the burst pipe quickly froze because of plunging temperatures, leading to slippery conditions along the stretch of road, officials with Houston Police Department told On Scene investigators.

— Matt deGrood

Readers can get live updates on power outages across Texas with our tracker. CenterPoint said Thursday that crews were ready and waiting to respond.

Four Houston warming centers are open. People who need to stay warm can go to Moody Community Center at 3725 Fulton St. in Northside, at the Fondé Community Center at 110 Sabine St. near Buffalo Bayou Park, the Acres Homes Multi-Service Center at 6719 West Montgomery Road or the George R. Brown Convention Center downtown.

There are also warming centers at Green House International Church at 200 West Greens Road and at Lakewood Church, 3700 Southwest Freeway.

Check this guide for information on resources, road conditions, how to deal with power outages and more.

The Houston area's largest churches said they're planning to hold Christmas weekend services as planned despite the cold.

Representatives for Lakewood Church, Woodlands Church, Second Baptist Church, New Light Christian Center Church and The Fountain of Praise said they will carry on with regularly scheduled services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

College closures were expected to mostly affect employees, as students had already been released for winter break. Lone Star College buildings were planning to close Friday, while Prairie View A&M University's non-essential employees were to work remotely in the morning, according to the schools. The University of Houston encouraged employees to work remotely Friday. Houston Community College and San Jacinto College closed Thursday and were to resume normal hours Jan. 2. Sam Houston State University closed at 1 p.m. Thursday. — Samantha Ketterer

The Houston Chronicle has lifted the paywall on this developing coverage to provide critical information to our community. To support our journalists’ work, consider a digital subscription.

This story will be updated throughout the day with the latest coverage on the Houston hard freeze, as information becomes available. To receive live updates, sign up for our Breaking News newsletter or download the Houston Chronicle mobile app. The Houston Chronicle has lifted the paywall on this developing coverage to provide critical information to our community. To support our journalists’ work, consider a digital subscription.

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