These pictures of the situation in Texas right now are absolutely insane.
After being hit with a once-in-a-generation winter storm bringing snow and ice to states like Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, many in the south are still struggling with no electricity and freezing cold temperatures.
And I know, some northerners may laugh and say “Well those southerners just can’t handle the cold.” But this isn’t your average cold in Texas.
How cold is it?
So cold that swimming pools are frozen.
please appreciate this photo of my dad standing on top of our frozen pool in dallas, measuring the thickness of the ice with a tape measure 😂 #DallasWeather #dfw pic.twitter.com/DanZ9fpRjc
— diana✨ (@xdianarose) February 17, 2021
My sister’s pool in Dallas is completely frozen over! pic.twitter.com/PEsZJQxSHB
— liberalpropaganda (@CRTCHP) February 17, 2021
And so are hot tubs.
52° in the house here in #HoustonTx #houstonpoweroutage #HoustonSnowDay2021 @KPRC2 the hot tub is frozen through pic.twitter.com/CiiQ2lqYIm
— Bailey (@McNotABride) February 16, 2021
Fountains? Didn’t stand a chance against this cold.
I think the frozen fountain just encapsulates how cold it is here. And Texas doesn’t have the infrastructure to keep people warm and safe. 13F right now. #prayforTexas #TexasFreeze pic.twitter.com/77RY8QApHp
— Beth Allison Barr (@bethallisonbarr) February 15, 2021
WOW! The fountains at Texas Tech have frozen in place!
If you have weather photos or videos you would like to share send them to https://t.co/YnKBWRAhWj pic.twitter.com/4F5ELrlODl— KCBD NewsChannel11 (@KCBD11) February 16, 2021
But it’s not just outside. Indoor fish tanks are frozen too.
It’s so cold in Texas homes that fish tanks are frozen. pic.twitter.com/IRuDjpG5Af
— Cleavon MD (@Cleavon_MD) February 18, 2021
And dog water bowls.
My dog’s water bowl inside my kitchen lit up with a flashlight. No rolling blackouts. Zero electrons since 2am last night, almost 24hrs. Frozen pipes. Houston Texas. Why not in the federal grid? Why so underprepared #ERCOT #texaspoweroutage #TexasFreeze pic.twitter.com/o22YqfzxsN
— UnEdumacatedJo (@UnedumacatedJo) February 16, 2021
Oh, and ceiling fans? Yep, frozen. I didn’t even know that was possible.
Icicles hang from a ceiling fan inside an apartment building in Dallas as millions of homes and businesses across Texas go without power during dangerous winter storm. https://t.co/Hj736WO3Vh pic.twitter.com/2mW3WQiZbw
— ABC News (@ABC) February 18, 2021
And imagine trying to go to the bathroom and your toilet is frozen.
I have never before seen toilet water freeze. In Texas.
📍Houston pic.twitter.com/4p5vJhpBVZ
— Markie Martin (@MarkieMartin) February 17, 2021
Many people are also without water – but even those that have it are having problems using it.
Stay safe y'all
Frozen faucet at my rental 😧😬❄️ #drip #frozenpipes #houwx #houstonfreeze #houstonpoweroutage #houstonweather pic.twitter.com/mIygHVrfu5— mb (@michaelbrom) February 17, 2021
Good luck trying to do dishes right now.
My dish soap in the back is frozen solid too… 🙃 do u see how my faucet is literally coming out of place? pic.twitter.com/7jr199TInm
— 🪐 val (@valsatuo) February 17, 2021
It’s so cold that people are bringing their livestock inside their house to keep them warm.
It’s so cold in Texas that my parents are having to bring some of the livestock into the house to keep them warm, like this little gal who was just born this afternoon and now has her own space heater AND play pen (water trough)! pic.twitter.com/UNtouloU0m
— bryce gilfillian (@brycegilfillian) February 17, 2021
And Texas isn’t the only state in the south dealing with the blistering cold, either. Here’s the situation in Oklahoma:
@nickibaber
Louisiana, of course, is dealing with the cold in the most Louisiana way possible.
It may be Mardi Gras, but these will NOT help you on the icy roads today. Stay home if you can 🧊 pic.twitter.com/oxqS8rwTHh
— Barbie Bassett (@BarbieBassettTV) February 16, 2021
But this one might take the cake…
Of all the parking spots in all of Dallas, this girl chose this spot and this pipe chose violence. pic.twitter.com/rGgaSpgqxj
— Landon (@landonhowell) February 18, 2021
So yeah, this isn’t your average cold snap down south. It’s a terrible situation right now, with people going days without heat or power and no indication of when things will get fixed.
Here’s to hoping our friends in Texas stay strong and weather this (literal) storm they’re having to deal with – on top of everything else already going on.
With a little Texas engineering like this though, something tells me they’re going to be just fine.
Outside faucets protected ✔ #TexasFreeze #Snowpocalypse2021 pic.twitter.com/h7rbnJWfGu
— Kyle McNutt (@kylemcnutt) February 14, 2021
I guess this is what Flatland Cavalry was singing about.