By Andrea Valdez
Broadcast News Director
Photos by Chris Swann
In the week leading up to the impending snowstorm in Texas, no one could have predicted the amount of damage the state would experience during this historic event. Instructions were given on how to layer up to keep warm during these frigid temperatures. Grocery store shelves once full of food were completely bare, and pets accustomed to being outside were given shelter indoors.
The sudden drop in temperatures caused many Texans to take precautions to ensure their safety and keep their families warm. The lowest temperature was -6 degrees on Feb. 15, which broke the original record of 16 degrees set in 2007, according to the National Weather Service website. The Tyler area received about nine inches of snow on Feb. 16, which was the highest amount for the area that week. However, since the state is not used to this type of weather, issues occurred statewide such as power loss.
Oncor, Texas’ largest energy delivery company, reported 17,681 active outages in Texas on Feb. 16, affecting nearly 1,321,215 customers. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas reported the highest number of outages affected almost 400,000 households. Electric companies were rolling out blackouts to preserve electricity causing it to turn on and off for periods of time. However, even with the scheduled blackouts, many homes went long hours and days without power.
State officials also warned residents to stay indoors and to stay off the roads, as they had become treacherous. The week before the snowstorm, freezing rain fell on main roads in bigger cities causing the roads to ice. On Feb. 11, a massive car pileup involving over 130 vehicles on Interstate-35W in Fort Worth left six dead and dozens with serious injuries.
TJC, along with schools in the surrounding area, closed its doors from Feb. 15 through Feb. 20 due to inclement weather posing a threat for those commuting to campus and those who were still on campus thinking of leaving. An email sent to the TJC community on Feb. 16 explained, “all classes and remote work were cancelled throughout the week. The power companies cannot predict when the electricity will be restored, and we urge everyone to take necessary precautions to stay safe.”
TJC freshmen Adam Tudor, who lives in Ornelas Hall, shared his experience.
“On the first day we experienced power outages for a large majority of the day. It was probably a total of an hour of power for the entire day in small increments,” Tudor said.
Along with the loss of electricity around the state, many homes and TJC were affected by the loss of water, as well. The low temperatures caused damages to water pipes that led to contamination in the water system. Tyler issued a water boil notice beginning on Feb. 17 and was lifted on Feb. 23. According to the City of Tyler website, water must be boiled before consumption, which includes brushing teeth, drinking, washing of the hands and or face, etc. Residential Life and Housing passed out water bottles to students because of the water contamination.
Lauren Taylor, a freshman at TJC, said “They did pass out bottles of water for the first day, then they let all the students know of a water purifier in the gym in Ornelas A that they could refill their water bottles with.”
Pipes had burst on campus that not only affected how students were getting clean water, but also damaged certain areas on campus, including Chick-fil-A.
In a video captured by Sydney Robinson, a student living in Crossroads Hall where the Chick-fil-A is located, a pipe burst from the ceiling causing ceiling tiles to crumble to the floor and water was leaking from the ceiling where the pipe was, flooding the first floor of the dorms. The pipe bursting triggered the fire alarm in the dorm, and students living in Crossroads Hall evacuated and took shelter in neighboring buildings such as Bateman Hall and the housing office to keep warm and charge phones.
The damages on the main campus left over from the snowstorm are currently being worked on by facilities and construction.
Director of Facilities and Construction Mark Gartman said in an email, “As everyone knows we had electrical outages and water outages on campus over multiple days along with very frigid below freezing temperatures for about 4 to 5 days. As you can imagine we have experienced damage. The damage included busted water lines, busted sprinkler system lines, busted coils in our air handling equipment, and stuff we probably haven’t found yet.”
South Palmer Avenue near the TJC soccer fields experienced damages to a broken water main and damaged inlet box underground after the storm caused the soil to shift under the asphalt and ground.
“When we repair these lines, we have to break through the asphalt and dig down past the pipes to isolate the break where water is coming down,” Tyler Public Works and Utilities Public Information Officer LouAnn Campbell said.
With South Palmer Avenue closed, alternate routes to campus include South Baxter Avenue, South Mahon Avenue and South Porter Avenue.
A timeline is yet to be determined on when those damages will fully be repaired.