East Texas Linemen Staging To Clean Up From Arctic Blast

(East Texas) It's been dominating local news all week long ... the big Arctic Blast. It is the calm before the storm right now with light rain and showers throughout East Texas, as we wait on the polar cold front to come barreling through East Texas.

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When The Rain Turns Dangerous

As the Arctic front moves through the Piney Woods, it is going to encounter a plethora of warm Gulf moisture.  This will create issues for East Texas travelers, cities, and power crews. The storm is expected to arrive Friday evening along the I-30 corridor in East Texas after 10 p.m. Any rain falling at that time will turn into freezing rain or sleet. That mixture will continue pushing south and be in the I-20 vicinity around midnight and continue pushing into Deep East Texas throughout Saturday morning.

The precipitation could lighten up some early Saturday morning, but is expected to intensify again throughout the day. Travel could become impacted as hazardous ice accumulation is expected to build on roadways and bridges. The ice buildup on trees will bring them down and could cover roadways and take out power lines at the same time.

Why Power Outages Are Likely

If you have to travel, do so carefully, and if you encounter a power line across the road - DO NOT cross over it. Or any downed power line, treat it as a live wire and call 9-1-1 to report the location or ONCOR or a power company.

ONCOR, SWEPCO, and other local utility companies have severe weather plans in place, and they have brought in additional crews from around the country to assist in restoring power in the event it goes out.

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Power Crews Ready to Respond

Power crews can be seen throughout East Texas in shopping centers and other large parking lots in staging areas waiting to be deployed to repair lines and replace broken poles.

These men and women do some dangerous work in some of the most unforgiving weather this time of the year. They will be working in sub-freezing conditions up in their buckets to restore the power that is lost.

The wintry mix will eventually end sometime Sunday, temperatures will go above freezing Tuesday, and these crews will still be at their job. When you do eventually venture out, please be mindful of these hard-working men and women who are doing a phenomenal job at keeping the power coming into our homes and apartments.

A Reminder to Watch for Linemen

Give them a quick wave and maybe a friendly horn honk to show thanks!