Extreme Cold, Unprecedented Snowfall... labeled by AccuWeather as “once in a generation”
In the last seven days alone, another winter storm and an arctic burst have worked their way across the United States — adding to a very active January of winter weather.
While there were warnings of a potential storm coming through the Gulf Coast, the snow and cold temperatures — labeled by AccuWeather as “once in a generation” — caused upwards of $14 billion in damages, experts at the weather bureau said late Tuesday afternoon. In some areas of the region, blizzard warnings were issued for the first time in recorded history in anticipation of the storm.
Parts of southeast Texas and Louisiana got over 6 inches of snow, while even Mississippi, Alabama, and northern Florida reported substantial snowfall on the ground.
The arctic burst tore its way through the Midwest and the Corn Belt, eventually impacting up to 41 states and over 230 million people, AccuWeather reported. In Colorado, wind gusts jumped to nearly 80 mph in places in addition to temperatures well below zero.
Houston rarely sees snowfall. The top five snow events are:
- Feb. 14-15, 1895, with 20 inches of snow
- Feb. 12, 1960, with 4.4 inches of snow
- Jan. 30, 1949, with 3.1 inches of snow
- Jan. 21, 2025 with 3 inches of snow
Comparing the deadly 2021 freeze to the 2025 snowfall that hit southeast Texas
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Stacking up the 2021 freeze to the snowfall in 2025 is an apples-to-oranges comparison.
The first big difference is the size of the storms.
In 2021, the cold weather impacted every single Texas county; this week's storm impacted the southeast. This fact made all the difference in the outcome.
Because the 2021 storm was so widespread, everyone was drawing large amounts of power from the independent Texas power grid.
Unable to borrow supply from other states, people used more than the grid had available, resulting in a catastrophic failure.
In 2021, over half the state lost power, plunging people into the dark and cold for weeks.
People died of hypothermia. Some resorted to using generators at home and died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
A lack of power made it hard for some to cook or follow boil water notices.
Some parts of Texas don't have snowplows or brine trucks, and iced-over roads cause intense crashes. Emergency crews couldn't get to destinations, and trucks had a hard time delivering food, resulting in a grocery shortage.
In total, almost 250 people died.
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