Pictured above: Texas during the Snow Storm. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
By Siona Ahuja ’24
Staff Writer
An unusual snowstorm hit Texas and nearby states with sub-freezing temperatures on Feb. 12, 2021, and has since led to the death of 26 people. President Joe Biden announced a state of Emergency as Texas faced the chilliest temperature on record in the past three decades. Snowfall at around 10 inches and low temperatures have disrupted the state’s energy grid, jeopardizing the lives of over 4 million Texans, many of whom were forced to live without heat, electricity and running water for several days.
The winter storm, officially named Uri, is thought to have originated in Siberia and made its way to the United States through an anomaly in the polar vortex. A polar vortex is a collection of cool air that swirls around both poles and is contained by jet streams. The Arctic is rapidly warming, causing the jet streams to wobble and shoot the frigid air up to different parts of the Earth — in this case, the central United States.
While not all scientists agree with this theory, many climate experts believe that Arctic warming is the primary cause of the storm and more bouts of cold weather are to come. According to NASA, the Earth’s average surface temperature has risen by 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th century, heating almost 10 times faster than the planet did after the ice age. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration additionally reported that in the second half of the 20th century, the United States was hit by nearly twice the amount of extreme winter storms than in the first half.
On Feb. 15, millions of Texans faced rolling electricity blackouts after the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which regulates almost 90 percent of the state’s electric load, announced it was experiencing record-breaking electric demand. Texas’ energy infrastructure was not adequately adapted for colder weather, resulting in the blackouts. Natural gas wells and wind turbines froze over, limiting gas supplies. Pumps that relied on electric power immediately shut down.
When asked about the residents’ survival plans, Chey Louis from Irving said in an article for CNN, “I’ve duct taped my doors and windows to slow the temperature drop and I’m in multiple layers of clothing, in multiple blankets using my cats for warmth. For now it feels like a waiting game.” The Houston Emergency Operations Center urged Texans to boil their water before consuming it, unplug nonessential appliances and conserve energy by turning their thermostats down to 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
In addition to residential difficulties came environmental consequences. According to operators at oil refineries, chemical manufacturers and petrochemical plants based in Texas, these plants may have released greenhouse gases and chemicals such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere. The power outages caused by the storm also hit industrial plants, forcing the release of an additional 3.5 million pounds of pollutants, according to analyses by Texas environmental groups Environmental Defense Fund, Environment Texas and Air Alliance Houston.
The disaster-struck state is currently in recovery from the storm. The Perryman Group, a domestic economic research firm, predicted that Uri could end up costing a total of $195 billion on the lower end and approximately $295 billion on the higher end. The total cost of recovery could top more than that of hurricanes Harvey, 2017, and Ike, 2008.
“For many people in our city who are already on the margins … and were fighting every day just to keep a roof over their head and food in their refrigerator, this past week has been a major, major event and has really disrupted their lives,” Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner said in a news conference last week. “For many of these individuals, many of these families, they will be in crisis mode for weeks and months to come,” he added. Turner later announced the formation of the Houston-Harris County 2021 Winter Storm Relief Fund to aid those residing in Houston and Harris County.