This fall might’ve been Austin’s warmest. The city says it’s ready now for record cold.

Austin and Travis County leaders said they are prepared for potentially record winter weather despite the warm fall.

At a news conference Wednesday, Mayor Kirk Watson and Travis County Judge Andy Brown said the city and county have several mechanisms in place to ensure residents have power and water, and that the roads are safe.

But Watson said it’s not always going to be perfect.

“Like any emergency that comes with weather, we can’t always anticipate everything that is going to happen,” he said. “There are going to be things that are unanticipated, and we need to recognize that.”

He said being prepared helps the city respond more quickly.

Austin Energy and Austin Water officials said teams have been weatherizing equipment, as well as testing and prepping backup generators.

Bob Kahn, general manager with Austin Energy, said the utility has also been working on tree trimming around electric poles and equipment.

“Ever since winter storms Uri and Mara, ERCOT and Austin Energy have made significant improvements in weatherizing. You know, lessons learned,” he said. “We are ready.”

The 2021 winter storm was largely due to power grid failures, but the 2023 winter storm exposed weaknesses in the city’s response system related to communication and equipment. Watson and other city leaders said they have worked to address these issues.

The city also recently introduced changes to make it easier to open cold weather shelters, like raising the temperature threshold to 35 degrees and warning residents earlier of bad weather.

Watson encouraged residents to build preparedness kits with necessary items for people and pets, including medications, water, blankets and flashlights.

Despite the warm fall, Chris Coleman, a meteorologist with the state’s electric grid operator, said the state could face a sudden freeze that puts the grid at risk of emergency conditions and forced power outages.

Coleman said the weather is in a pattern that supports something like the winter storm in February 2021, which led to statewide blackouts and more than 200 deaths.

This story was produced as part of the Austin Monitor’s reporting partnership with KUT.

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