These are words not often spoken in my home state, but two weeks ago, Texas experienced a winter storm like never before.

At the start of the week, we were eagerly anticipating the rarity that is snow in Texas. This time however, the snow did not melt away the second it hit the pavement and instead continued to pile up overnight. In the morning, when I looked outside my window, I could see we were left with the beautiful sight of white snow blanketing the ground. Such elation would be short lived however, as things took a turn for the worse. No amount of preparation could’ve had us ready for the events that would unfold.

In the cold of the night, as temperatures dropped to record-low numbers, several places lost the one thing keeping people warm through the night: power. Homes statewide, including my own household and those of many loved ones, went twenty four hours to multiple days without electricity. In the meantime, families struggled to make food and other necessities last them until the storm passes.

While losing power is common during inclement weather, these sudden outages were due to a process called a rolling blackouts. This is an intentional power outage across a certain area as a means of conserving energy when supply is low. Many families were kept in the dark as to when they would become the next victim to a blackout, or how long this intentional outage would last.

In addition to losing access to heaters, cities across the state made the decision to shut off water services to prevent pipes from freezing. Unfortunately for some residents, it was too late. Thousands of homes experienced water damage resulting from bursted pipes. Even when water was restored, boil water notices were set in place due to possible contamination. Certain areas of Texas are still under these boil water advisories.

Scenes of the storm’s aftermath were headlined on every news outlet and can only be described as utterly devastating.

The number of freak accidents such as house fires or carbon monoxide deaths continued to rise daily. As if the hardships of this pandemic haven’t already been daunting, people were left struggling to fend for themselves not only physically but also, financially. Whether it’s due to house damage or costly bills, the financial consequences of this harrowing week are just yet another conflict individuals are having to face days after the snow storm.

As snow in Texas happens so infrequently, I wish this could have been a time of joy after months of tribulations. But, it’s hard to make light of a situation that left so many in distress. The blizzard not only caused property damage and financial crises, but also environmental devastation for many animal species native to Texas.

Now two weeks later, in true Texas fashion, temperatures are back to humid conditions. None of us could’ve ever guessed there would be a price to pay to see some snow in the south.

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I’m back! I hope you enjoyed my end of the month post for February. If you did, make sure to share it with everyone you know! You may have noticed that I changed up the design of my blog with a new background and homepage image. I’m very excited about this new look and to continue writing for you guys. If you’ve read this far, thank you for reading and remember to stay tuned for a new blog post each month!