Snowpocalypse ‘21 hits Cass County

Sometime before midnight on Valentine’s Day, the community was surprised to see a quick accumulation of snow throughout Cass County. The surprise turned to anxiety when the snow continued to fall. People who got out in the unusual weather began to see items like bread and milk fly off the shelves. Cars around the area began to be stranded or towed after they became stuck in the snow. By the time the storm had ended many of our area stores closed down, and the grocery stores shelves were almost bare, with items like milk and water being completely gone.

As of Feb. 22, some of the businesses are still down due to stock issues or damage done to property. Even with the damage, as of 4 p.m., Cass County still was not on the list for major disaster declaration. According to Judge Becky Wilbanks, Cass County issued a Disaster Declaration last Tuesday and as is protocol, was forwarded to the State. Wilbanks did not know why President Biden only approved 77 of 254 counties. According to Governor Abbott, “this partial approval is an important first step.”

Wilbanks sent the Self Reporting Damage Survey to the Journal-Sun so that people in the county could fill it out. This form is very important. It provides information for FEMA and highlights the need for federal disaster, said Wilbanks. “The survey can also be found on the County’s Facebook page and on Cass County’s website as well. We hope that the President will soon include all other 177 counties impacted by this unfortunate weather occurrence.” Joining Bowie County was added to the second list from the Governor.

According to the National Weather Service the Cass County area received approximately 10” in its first fall from February, 14-15 then about an additional 11”. Atlanta and Queen City were already off for Winter Break so school closings did not affect them. However other area schools closed down for the week of 15-19. All area schools closed for another day because of water advisories and snow on streets traveled lightly and county roads. Tuesday Atlanta was closed down one more day because of the water issues.

Some of the highlights of the week included:

February 14, Governor Greg Abbott announced that the White House had issued a Federal Emergency Declaration for Texas in response to the severe winter weather throughout the state. The Governor submitted a request for this declaration on Saturday to assist the State in response efforts related to the storm.

February 15, Governor Greg Abbott announced that the State of Texas is deploying maximum resources to local officials throughout the state to respond to severe winter weather and to restore power to our communities. State agencies are sending resources and personnel to help local officials clear roadways and to assist essential workers, such as healthcare professionals and power grid workers, in carrying out their essential duties.

February 17 at 4:00 p.m. snowfall around Cass County remained heavy shutting down most businesses and causing outages throughout East Texas and the surrounding areas. Various accidents, stranded vehicles can be seen.

Furthermore, Governor Abbott and the Texas Military Department have deployed National Guard across Texas to conduct welfare checks and to assist local authorities in transitioning Texans in need to one of the 135 local warming centers that the state has helped established across Texas.

On Sunday, Governor Abbott sought and received a waiver from the U.S. Department of Energy that allows Texas power generators to increase production. Unfortunately, some of those generators are unable to increase production at this time because their operations have been frozen by weather conditions. They are working to get their power production back on line.

“Due to the severe weather and freezing temperatures across our state, many power companies have been unable to generate power, whether it’s from coal, natural gas, or wind power,” said Governor Abbott. “ERCOT and the PUC are working non-stop to restore power supply. The state has also deployed resources to assist Texans without power and to help essential workers continue to carry out their jobs. In the meantime, I encourage all Texans to continue to stay off the roads, and conserve energy as state agencies work with private providers to restore power as quickly as possible.”

Governor Greg Abbott today declared the reform of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) an emergency item this legislative session. In declaring this item an emergency, the Governor is calling on the legislature to investigate ERCOT and ensure Texans never again experience power outages on the scale they have seen over the past several days. SWEPCO is not part of ERCOT.

February 18-19, the Atlanta Police department again issued a warning about getting out in the Weather, “The roads are becoming extremely dangerous around Atlanta now that another winter storm is just hours away everyone please stay home for your safety. We are a strong community and the police department is asking you to shelter in place and stay warm. The road conditions should improve over the weekend with warmer temperatures coming. Please refrain from traveling unless it’s an emergency. Thanks for your cooperation Atlanta Police Department”

February 20- Temperatures began warming up, allowing main streets to become drivable. Area grocery stores were out/low of many things link water, meat and milk.

February 22- Most roads were good. Many of the area businesses reopened.

SWEPCO, Bowie and Cass Electric Cooperative exorcised controlled outages were “when SWEPCO and other utilities were called upon by the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), the regional organization that manages the electric grid across 17 central and western U.S. states. The planned and coordinated interruption of service is part of emergency procedures to reduce load on the electric system and prevent wider area outages.”

The current weather has shown a need for emergency shelter here in Cass County, and the need for a centralized hub for resources. The Journal-Sun will be working with local churches, governmental agencies, and local humanitarian groups to begin to coordinate this in the weeks to come. If you would like to be a part of this email shawn@casscountynow.com. The Journal-Sun did speak to a couple of leaders in the community and as of yesterday there still was room at the Salvation Army in Texarkana for the homeless and those in need. There is need for people with 4-wheen drive vehicles to take them to Texarkana when the need arises. There is a thread on the Journal -Sun Facebook page that you can offer your resources.