IS
IS TO
IS TO BLAME. LIVE, FROM DOWNTOWN DALLAS,
YOU'RE UP WITH "DAYBREA+@K."
>>> GOOD MORNING AND THANK YOU
FOR WAKING UP WITH US.
I'M KARA SEWELL.
IT IS ASH WEDNESDAY, FEBR+@UARY
17th.
17th.
17th. AS
17th. AS IF WE DIDN'T GET ENOUGH
SNOW, ANOTHER ROUND.
NOW THAT WE HAVE NEW S+@NOW ON
TOP OF WHAT WE +@HAD SUND+@AY
NIGHT, MILLIONS OF TEXANS ARE
STILL WITHOUT POWER TO HEAT
THEIR HOMES.
THEIR HOMES. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE
EVERYTHING TO START YOUR DAY,
ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE WORKING.
KALEE DIONNE IS STANDING BY THE
NEWSROOM TO HELP.
GREG, WE KNOW THIS SNOW STARTED
HOURS AGO.
HOURS AGO. WHEN WILL IT TAPER OFF?
>>> IT'S GOING TO LINGER WITH
MORE OF THAT MIX AS WE GET INTO
THE AFTERNOON.+@
THE AFTERNOON.+@ LET'S SHOW YOU W+@HAT WE DO HAV
IN DENTON THIS IS 15.
WE HAD+@ THE SINGLE DIGITS
YESTERDAY.
YESTERDAY. IT I+@S WARMER.
IT MAY NOT FEEL LIKE THIS +@BUT
WE HAVE THE SINGLE DIGIT WIND
CHILLS ON THE UNT CAMPUS WITH
THE FRESH COATING OF SNOW.
HERE'S WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE ON
RADAR.
RADAR.
RADAR. YOU CAN SEE THE HEAVIER SNOW
HAS REALLY TAPERED OFF.
SCATTERED FROM CARROLL TO
TARRANT COUNTY AS YOU GET TO
SAGINAW AND HAZEL.
YOU CAN SEE THAT PINK SHADED
AREA IN WAXAHACHIE, CORSICANA
AND PALESTINE.
AND PALESTINE. IT WILL USES CONTINUE.
THE SNOW WILL CONTINUE BUT
STARTING TO TAPER OFF.
WE'LL HAVE THAT MIXTURE OF
FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET,
ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTHEASTERN
COUNTIES.
COUNTIES.
COUNTIES. BY THE AFTERNOON, IT SHOULD BE
COMING TO AN END.
+@BY +@THIS EVENING THE STORM M
OUT BUT THIS WILL BE BITTERLY
COLD, SO WE'LL TALK+@ MORE ABOU
THAT.
THAT.
THAT. NOW
THAT. NOW LET'S CHECK TRAFFIC.
+@
NOW LET'S CHECK TRAFFIC. HERE'S TRASH THAT A+@RE.
>>> GOOD MORNING.
IF YOU'RE JUST JOINING US.
SO, LOOK, DRIVE TO CONDITIONS.+
RED+@UCE SPEEDS.
RED+@UCE SPEEDS. I HAVE SEEN SOME OF YOU GOING A
LITTLE TOO FAST.
BE CON+@SIDERATE AND SHARE THE
ROAD AND DRIVE WITH YOUR
HEADLIGHTS DAY AND NIGHT.
LOOK, THIS IS 75 RIGHT AT
EXCHANGE PARKWAY.
EXCHANGE PARKWAY. YOU REALLY CAN'T SEE A THING.
I KNOW FOLKS WILL SAY THAT'S
WHY YOU HAVE HEADLIGHTS.
YES.
YES.
YES. WE
YES. WE KNOW THAT, BUT THE OUTAGES
ARE STILL THERE ACROSS THE
METROPLEX.
METROPLEX. SO MAKE SURE THE HEADLIGHTS ARE
WORKING.
WORKING.
WORKING. MAKE SU+@RE YOU USE THEM AND TA
THIS SLOW BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SEE
ALL THAT SNOW AND ICE ON THE
ROADWAYS.
ROADWAYS.
ROADWAYS. ALL RIGHT.
ALL RIGHT. I WANT TO SAY GOOD MORNING TO
HANNAH +@DAVIS.
HANNAH +@DAVIS. AT LAST CHECK YOU WERE ON I I-
AT LAST CHECK YOU WERE ON I I-+@ 30
30
30 >>
30 >> Reporter: I DO WANT TO SHOW
+@
>> Reporter: I DO WANT TO SHOW YOU WHAT WE'RE SEEING ON THE
ROADWAYS.
ROADWAYS.
ROADWAYS. YOU CAN SEE PEOPLE ARE STARTING
TO HIT THE ROADS.
TAKE A LOOK AT THE TWO CARS.
PEOPLE AREN'T SURE WHERE THE
LANES ARE.
LANES ARE. YOU ARE JUST+@ FINDING THE
GROOVES.
GROOVES.
GROOVES. YOU'LL SEE A CAR ON OUR LEFT IN
JUST A SECOND PASSING US,
PROBABLY GOING A LITTLE TOO
FAST THIS MORNING, GUYS.
TAKE YOUR TIME.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.
NOW WE WILL GO OUT TO CHRIS
SADEGHI.
SADEGHI.
SADEGHI. YOU WERE DOING SOME EXTRA WORK
WHILE WORKING.
WHILE WORKING. HOW A+@RE YOU DOING?
>> Reporter: YEAH, ME AND A LOT
OF +@PEOPLE WHEN THEY WAKE UP,
THEY WILL HAVE A FRESH LAYER OF
SNOW TO SHOVEL.
IT'S BEEN COMING DOWN ALL NIGHT
IN McKINNEY.
IN McKINNEY. THE SNOWFLAKES ARE NOT QUITE AS
HEAVY.
HEAVY.
HEAVY. LOOKS LIKE MAYBE WE'RE STARTING
TO TAPER OFF.
OVERNIGHT, KIND OF HARD TO SEE
THE DARK BUT+@ WHEN YOU COULD G
TO AN AREA WHERE IT IS LIGHT,
IT WAS COMING DOWN, FALLING
FAST.
FAST.
FAST. USUALLY THE SNOW IS SOMETHING
WE CAN HAVE FUN IN, BU+@T IT'S
HARDER TO ENJOY THAT IF THERE'S
NO GUARANTEE OF WARMING UP.
LOTS OF PEOPLE STILL WITHOUT
POWER IN McKINNEY.
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS LONG L+@IST
OF CARS WAITING TO +@GET
FIREWOOD.
FIREWOOD.
FIREWOOD. WHERE I WAS, THE POWER WOULD
KICKEN FOR ABOUT 30 TO 45
MINUTES, THEN GO BACK OFF FOR
AN HOUR OR TWO, SO WE'RE STILL
DEALING WITH THE OUTAGES, +@DOI
WARMI+@NG+@ CENTERS.
WARMI+@NG+@ CENTERS. BODY HIGH SCHOOL IS OPEN 24
HOURS.
HOURS.
HOURS. +@
HOURS. MARC, I SAID I WAS GOING TO GET
TO WORK, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT?
I HAVEN'T MADE A WHOLE LOT OF
PROGRESS.
PROGRESS.
PROGRESS. I DON'T THINK THE PEOPLE ON
THIS STREET WILL PAY ME FOR MY+
SERVICES.
SERVICES.
SERVICES. I JUST HAVE ONE LITTLE SMALL
SQUARE WHERE I'M STANDIN+@G.
>> I +@SEE THE STICKER WHERE YO
JUST BOUGHT.
JUST BOUGHT. IT MAYBE YOU CAN BREAK IT IN.
THE SNOW IS FUN FOR A LOT OF
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. IT'S NICE T+@O TAKE PICTURES, B
THIS IS ALSO A TOUGH TIME FOR
PEOPLE TRYI+@NG+@ TO WALK THA+@
WHEN YOU SEE FOLKS WITHOUT
POWER AND WITHOUT WATER AS
WELL.
WELL.
WELL. IT
WELL. IT IS A ONE-TWO PUN THAT MUCH
WE'VE SEEN IN SEVERAL
COMMUNITIES.
COMMUNITIES. LET'S TALK ABOUT DENTON COUNTY.
THE OUTAGE HAS HIT MULTIPLE GA+
STATIONS AND G+@ENERATORS ARE
HARD TO COME BY.
NOT ONLY THAT, GASOLINE IS HARD
TO COME BY.
WE WENT TO EIGHT STATIONS AND
NONE OF THEM HAD GAS.
SO THE+@ STATE IS ASKING FOR HE
IN GETTING FUEL TO THAT AREA.
I WANT TO CHECK IN WITH CLEO
GREENE.
GREENE.
GREENE. CLEO, LOOK, IF ONE SPOKESPERSON
WITHOUT POWER RIGHT NOW, THAT'S
ONE PERSON TOO MANY.
WHERE DO THINGS STAND?
>> ONCOR OFFICIALS, ERCOT
OFFICIALS ARE TWEETING.
ERCOT WAS ABLE TO DIRECT
UTILITIES TO RESTORE 600,000
HOUSEHOLDS LAST NIGHT.
THEY SAID 2.7 MILLION
H+@OUSEHOLDS STILL DO NOT HAVE
POWER.
POWER.
POWER. I
POWER. I JUST UPDATED ERCOT'S SITE AND
IT SAYS OVER 2.9 DO NOT HAVE
POWER.
POWER.
POWER. THIS MAP NEEDS TO BE COMPLETELY
BLUE.
BLUE.
BLUE. THAT IS NOT THE CASE.
GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT IS QUITE
UPSET ABOUT THIS AND WANTS TO
HOLD ERCOT RESPONSIBLE.
HE DID A LIVE INTERVIEW WITH US
AND NOW CALLING FOR A
RESIGNATION OF ERCOT'S CEO.
OUR CYNTHIA IZAGUIRRE ASKED THE
QUESTION, WHEN WILL THE POWER
TURN ON FOR EVERYONE AND STAY
ON.
ON.
+@
+@ >>
+@ >> GENTLEMEN, WHEN IS THE POWER
COMING BACK ON?
>> THAT IS PRECIS+@ELY WHAT I W
TALKING ABOUT EARLIER.
THAT IS THE QUESTION I'M ASKING
AND THE PUBLIC NEEDS AN ANSWER
FROM ERCOT.
FROM ERCOT. ERCOT IS THE ORGANIZATION
+@ OPERATING THE TRANSMISSI+@ON.
ERCOT HAS NOT BEEN TRANSPARENT
ABOUT THIS.
ABOUT THIS. WE NEED ANSWERS FROM ERCOT TO
MAKE SURE PEOPLE GET THE
ANSWERS THEY NEED BUT MORE
IMPORTANTLY, GET THE POWER THEY
NEED.
NEED.
NEED. >>
NEED. >> SO GOVERNOR GR+@EG ABBOTT SA
+@
>> SO GOVERNOR GR+@EG ABBOTT SA THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTA+@B
AND ERCOT HAS NOT BEE+@N
TRANSPARENT.
TRANSPARENT. A BUSINESS PROFESSOR SAID HE
BELIEVES THERE ARE THREE MAIN
REASONS FOR THE POWER
SITUATION.
SITUATION. HE SAID THE DEMAND FOR NATURAL
GAS, MECHANICAL ISSUES AND
TURBINE WINDP+@IPES.
TURBINE WINDP+@IPES. HE SAID MOVING FORWARD TO MAKE
SURE NOTHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS @
AGAIN, TO LOOK AT THE POWER +@
GRID IN PLACES LIKE MINNES+@OTA
+@
GRID IN PLACES LIKE MINNES+@OTA IT WO+@ULD NEVER HAPPEN.
LOOKING AT ONCOR'S OUTAGE MAP,
REMEMBER AROUND 5:30 THERE WERE
ABOUT 615.
ABOUT 615. NOW LOOKS LIKE 605 CUSTOMERS IN
NORTH TEXAS.+@
NORTH TEXAS.+@ MARC, I'M TALKING TO A LOT OF
PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
SHAWN BRANCH SHOWING ME PICTURE
OF HER SISTER'S APARTMENT JUST
DRENCHED IN WATER.
+@
+@ A
+@ A LOT
+@ A LOT OF +@PEOPLE ARE ASKING TH
GOVERNOR WHO WILL PAY FOR ALL
THESE DAMAGES AND HE DOESN'T
HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THAT.
IT'S A MESSY SITUATION
ALTOGETHER.
ALTOGETHER. MARC?
MARC?
MARC? >>
MARC? >> THE GOVERNOR WAS POINTING A
FINGER AT ERCOT.
ALL RIGHT.
ALL RIGHT. WANT TO GET IT OVER T+@O KALEE.
AS WE'RE LOOK+@ING AT THE
FORECAST, WE ARE HEARING TERMS
LIKE RAIN, SLEET AND SNOW.
CAN YOU BREAK DOWN THOSE
DIFFERENCES?
DIFFERENCES? >>> ABSOLUTELY.
>>> ABSOLUTELY. WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT RADAR
WHEN YOU PULL UP OUR APP YOU'LL
SEE SEVERAL DIFFERENT COLORS.
IT'S THE FREEZING RAIN, SLEET
AND SNOW.
AND SNOW.
AND SNOW. SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS
+@
+@ AND
+@ AND THINK YOU SEE A PANCAKE IN
THE BACK OF THE SCREEN, YOU
ACTUALLY +@SEE A PANCAKE BECAUS
I LOVE THEM AND I LOVE TO TELL
THE STORY.
THE STORY. WE'RE THE BOTTOM PANCAKE.
THERE ARE SEVERAL LAYERS.
SO EACH PANCAKE HAS ITS OWN
TEMPERATURES AND WINDS AND IT
ALL PLAY AS ROLE.
EVE+@RY PANCAKE HAS TO BE BELOW
32 DEGREES TO GET SNOWFALL.
NOW IF YOU LOOK AT SLEET, YOU
CAN SEE A LITTLE BIT OF RED.
THAT'S ABOVE FREEZING.
THERE'S A SMALL AMOUNT ABOVE
FREEZING BUT IT HAS TIME TO
REFREEZE.
REFREEZE.
REFREEZE. FREEZING RAIN HAS MORE WARM AIR
AND DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO
REFREEZE UNTIL IT GETS TO THE
SURFACE, HITS SOMETHING BELOW
FREEZING AND FREEZES ON
CONTACT.
CONTACT.
CONTACT. THAT'S VERY DANGEROUS.
WHEN THE ENTIRE ONE IS ABOVE
FREEZING, THAT'S WHEN YOU GET
+@
FREEZING, THAT'S WHEN YOU GET THE RAINFALL.
THE RAINFALL. >>> ALL RIGHT.
THOSE PRECIPITATION TYPES
REALL+@Y HAVING AN IMPACT ON TH
ROADS.
ROADS.
ROADS. THIS IS 75 AT PARKLAND.
WE HAVE A DISABLED VEHICLE.
THAT'S ON THE -- LET ME SEE --
THE SOUTHBOUND SIDE.
SO YOU'LL NOTICE THAT AS YOU
GET READY TO HEAD OUT.
+@
GET READY TO HEAD OUT. IF YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE
ESSENTIAL WORKERS, I WANT TO
REMIND YOU THESE CONDITIONS ARE
DANGEROUS.
DANGEROUS. ONE, IT'S DARK BECAUSE OF THE
OUTAGES, SO MANY OF THE
ROADWAYS ARE DARK.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR
HEADLIGHTS ON.
HEADLIGHTS ON. HOPING YOU GOT SOME TREAD ON
YOUR TIRES SO YOU CAN AT LEAST
HAVE SOME TRACTION I+@F YOU HAV
YOUR TIRES SO YOU CAN AT LEAST HAVE SOME TRACTION I+@F YOU HAV@
TO HEAD OUT.
SLOW DOWN.
SLOW DOWN. DRIVE +@TO THE CONDITIONS+@.
THAT VEHICLE ON THE LEFT-HAND
SIDE LOOKS LIKE IT STALLED OUT.
WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF PROBLEMS,
ONE ON THE +@LBJ.
ONE OF THE +@THINGS I WANT TO
NOTE ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR AREA
IS YOU COULDN'T SEE A THING OUT
THERE IT WAS BASICALLY COVERED
IN WHITE.
IN WHITE.
IN WHITE. TALKED TO TXDOT.
THEY SAID THEY WERE TRYING TO
CLEAR SOME OF