In so many states, scenes looked like the 2004 film THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW..
The National Weather Service reports extremely cold temperatures ranging from -5 to 3 degrees is predicted through at least noon on Tuesday for all of North and Central Texas.
Roughly 3.9 million Texans are without power as of early Tuesday morning after the power grid failed.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced late Monday that the Texas National Guard was being deployed to help get people to heating centers. He said state agencies are sending additional resources and personnel to help local officials clear roadways and to assist essential workers.
Attempts to keep the heat and lights on at the onset of the severe weather failed. Rolling blackouts scheduled early Monday to conserve Texas’s energy supply turned into extended blackouts that are now expected to last well into Tuesday, and possibly longer, energy company officials said.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said the grid lost some 34,000 megawatts of power. Energy sources powering the grid were knocked offline, most of which were powered by natural gas, coal or nuclear energy, according to Houston Public Radio.
The state grid was already facing some shortages because of frozen wind turbines and limited gas supply.
In North Texas, energy provider Oncor said power outages in the region, previously expected to last just 45 minutes, will be “significantly extended” and told customers to be prepared to be without power for awhile.
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As of this moment, three people were killed in a tornado that tore through a seaside North Carolina town and millions of people in Texas remained in the dark early Tuesday amid subfreezing temperatures..
Much of east Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas were under winter storm warnings Tuesday in anticipation of the next round of snow and ice. In Dallas, the Weather Service said more ice and another 2 to 6 inches of snow were expected beginning Tuesday evening.