TEXAS, USA — It's been two years since hundreds of Texans died and millions were left without power as a result of a deadly winter storm.
Winter Storm Warnings were issued Feb. 10, 2021, and long-range forecasts predicted extremely cold temperatures and arctic air.
"The GFS (weather model) was saying single digits, and for the GFS to do that, that was like alarm bells," KENS 5 meteorologist Paul Mireles said.
Temperatures began to drop...from the 70s to the 50s and eventually below freezing, and San Antonio stayed below 32 degrees for a total of 107 hours. It was the second longest duration below freezing in San Antonio history. And with rain moving in, it created a bad setup.
"You need to get in as soon as you can because everything is icing over and you're not going to be able to get here unless you leave now," said KENS 5 Weather Chief Bill Taylor about the warnings reaching KENS 5 employees.
Roads, bridges and overpasses immediately became a problem.
"It was drizzle, but it was freezing on contact because it was getting very cold," Mireles said.
Valentine's Day weekend, Feb. 13-14, 2021, saw major ice accumulation of nearly 3/4 of an inch across the Hill Country. There were an estimated 700 accidents, 40,000 emergency calls, and 734 officers manning highway closures.
"It was all ice. I'm literally a mile away, but it took me 45 minutes to drive (to the TV station)," Taylor said. "And I am just watching cars spinning out, hitting each other, hitting the wall. I mean, they didn't close the road yet."
In total, 246 people in Texas lost their lives due to the storm, and 16 of those were here in San Antonio.
More than 346,000 people in San Antonio were without power at one point. The Texas comptroller’s office estimates it cost the state between $80 million - $130 million.