City preparing for freezing weather next week

The city is preparing for freezing temperatures by taking precautionary measures in all our departments. First, our emergency management division has been closely monitoring conditions and in communication with the National Weather Service.

As of Friday, the National Weather Service is forecasting that a cold front will arrive Saturday night with freezing temperatures expected Monday night to Tuesday. For Galveston, temperatures are expected to be around 32 degrees, while other parts of the Houston area are anticipating colder temperatures. There are increasing chances for snow and ice across southeast Texas beginning Monday night into Tuesday evening.

Ahead of the cold, we're recommending residents take precautions to protect the four Ps: people, pets, plants and pipes. Dress warm and stay inside if possible. Be careful with indoor space heaters and keep heat sources at least 3 feet from furniture and drapes. Please keep all pets inside and stick to short bathroom visits outdoors.

We recommend residents wrap exposed faucets and pipes, including those outside the house or in unheated crawl spaces, attics, garages and other areas. We also recommend that you disconnect and drain your irrigation system and open your under-sink cabinets in your house to help heat the pipes.

The Municipal Services department is assisting residents who wish to turn off water at unoccupied homes or businesses. To request this service, please call 409-797-3630. We will also monitor customer water use for indications of widespread leaks, which we are now able to do with our new water meter system.

City leadership has established a good relationship and communication with local CenterPoint representatives, and we understand the company is taking proactive steps to prevent outages. However, we know power outages may still be possible. For this reason, we now recommend that all power-dependent residents have a backup plan for staying elsewhere should power go out.

The City is prepared to open a warming center if there are widespread power outages. We will share more information about this at the time.

Please use caution on roadways and avoid driving unless necessary in the event of ice or snowy conditions. Follow the US National Weather Service and official sources for updated information throughout the weekend.