Texas Winter Weather Preparedness: Driving, Home, and Weather Safety Tips

Winter Driving Safety

• 🚗 Reduce your speed by about a third of the speed limit when driving on slick roads.
• ⚠️ If your car starts to skid, let off the accelerator and steer in the direction of the skid.
• 🛑 Do not slam on your brakes or spin your steering wheel, as this can cause you to spin out or roll your vehicle.
• ↔️ Double your normal following distance to four car lengths to maintain safe spacing.
• 🚨 Driving too fast in unsafe conditions can result in a ticket, and first responders will be extremely busy, potentially delaying help for accidents.

Home Preparation for Cold Weather

• 🏠 Always remember the four Ps: pipes, plants, pets, and people.
• 💧 Consider a slow drip of faucets on outside walls and open cabinet doors to allow house heat to reach pipes.
• 🔌 Remove outdoor garden hoses and cover hose bibs for added protection.
• 🛠️ Know the location of your water shut-off valve in case of a burst pipe.
• 🔑 A Jones Stevens key can be used to open locked water meter covers to shut off water at the main if pipes freeze and crack.
• 🏊 For pools, turn on the freeze guard system and let pool pumps run to prevent water from freezing and causing damage.

Understanding Winter Precipitation Types

• 🌨️ Freezing rain occurs when normal rain falls as liquid and freezes on contact with surfaces below freezing temperatures.
• 🧊 Sleet or ice pellets form from snow that melts and refreezes while falling in the lower atmosphere.
• ❄️ Snow consists of frozen six-sided crystals that form in clouds and reach the ground without melting.
• 🌡️ The vertical temperature profile of the atmosphere is key to forecasting which type of winter precipitation will fall.