TEXAS, USA — Central Texas is preparing for a week of frigid temperatures combined with the possibility of ice, sleet and even several inches of snow.
Our team of experienced meteorologists is tracking the dangerous winter storm around the clock.
School District Plans
You'll find a separate list of school district plans here. Some are closing and others are moving to virtual learning.
Take a live look at traffic throughout the area before you leave the house, in case you need to go out.
Saturday Updates
4 p.m.
H-E-B announced that it is adjusting and reducing its operation hours due to the winter weather. The grocery chain said customers may also see limited time slots available for Curbside and home delivery.
The temporary store hours are:
Waco/Temple/Killeen
Sunday: 6 a.m. -7 p.m.
Monday: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Austin and Central Texas stores
Sunday: 6 a.m. -7 p.m.
Monday: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
1:30 P.M.
Vista Church canceled in person services for Sunday. The church said they will stream the service at 9:15 a.m. on Facebook and YouTube.
12:30 P.M.
Fort Hood DFMWR said it was closing the following by 3 pm: Gyms at 2 pm, as scheduled; Apache Arts and Crafts Center; Casey Memorial Library Sprocket Auto Crafts Center; REC Golf Bowling Sportsmen’s Center Bingo.
All facilities were to remain closed Sunday.
11:15 A.M.
Temple ISD Superintendent Dr. Bobby Ott said the district created a Google document Friday for staff to sign up for the vaccine they received from the health district.
The list was quickly filled, Ott said, and it was set to be administered by school nurses at 1:30 p.m. at the administration building.
Taina Maya with Killeen ISD said the district was also administering the vaccine Saturday morning.
10:45 A.M.
The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic will close at 12 p.m. Saturday due to dangerous weather conditions.
Anyone with an afternoon appointment will be contacted by email, phone, and text to reschedule.
According to Dr. Farley Verner, Health Authority for the Health District, a delay of days to a few weeks in receiving the second dose of vaccine will not decrease its effectiveness. Second dose appointments will be prioritized in the next clinic.
The date for the next clinic has not been determined and will be based on weather conditions.
10:15 A.M.
Due to the dangerous weather conditions, the Waco Family YMCA will close at Noon.
Youth Basketball League games were also canceled.
10:05 A.M.
Belton Independent Public District Health Services staff will administer COVID-19 vaccinations to district employees on Feb. 13, at the Pittenger Fine Arts Center, the district announced Saturday.
The announcement came after the Bell County Public Health District said because vaccination centers closed on Thursday and Friday the supply of doses was at risk of expiring.
The district gave 325 doses to Belton ISD on Friday afternoon. The school district quickly mobilized nurses and staff volunteers to set up a vaccine site that would provide employees access to the vaccine.
9:45 A.M.
Due to the closures of Bell County vaccination centers on Thursday and Friday and the potential for more closures next week, Bell County health leaders have determined that the county has more doses at risk of expiring Monday than it has the capacity to distribute through its vaccination centers, the health district announced Saturday.
Approximately 2,334 doses were determined to be in danger of expiring by midnight Tuesday.
Judge David Blackburn said several courses of action were being taken to ensure that none of thawed vaccines are wasted, including using the existing vaccination waitlist, contacting a local healthcare provider, and engaging Bell County’s three largest school districts.
“Our first course of action was to determine the maximum number of new appointments we could add to our first dose sites on Saturday,” Blackburn said. “We were able to quickly fill those slots by reaching out directly to individuals on our waitlist.”
At the same time, the Bell County Public Health District contacted Cedar Crest Hospital in Belton to determine if the hospital had vaccinated all its staff and patients.
Blackburn said Cedar Crest advised they had not and would be willing to set up an emergency vaccine site to vaccinate their staff and patients.
“For the remaining doses, we focused on local groups that would both be able to mobilize quickly, scale to the numbers that were needed on short notice, and had internal medical staff capable of administering the doses,” Blackburn said. “To that end, we have worked with Bell County’s three largest school districts to organize vaccine drives for their teachers and staff members.”
Killeen Independent School District, Belton ISD, and Temple ISD each agreed to receive and administer 325 doses and will be hosting vaccine sites on Saturday.
The Bell County Public Health District would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to Cedar Crest Hospital, Killeen ISD, Belton ISD, and Temple ISD for stepping up during this weather event and assisting the District in utilizing vaccines that would have otherwise been wasted.
Friday Updates
4:45 p.m.
Freezing weather conditions are affecting several City of Belton services.
- Waste Management did not complete Thursday collections and suspended Friday collections due to weather conditions. Waste Management plans to service these customers on Saturday, Feb. 13. Waste Management will not operate on Monday, Feb. 15. An update about trash collections will occur on Monday.
- City brush collections will be suspended until Monday, Feb. 22.
- The Feb. 15 payment deadline is extended until 5 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 18 Friday, Feb. 19, to accommodate residents who prefer to pay bills in person or using the drop-box.
- Freezing temperatures can cause water pipes to rupture. At home, remember to cover outside faucets and turn off and winterize sprinkler systems. Inside, open cabinets with water pipes and allow water to drip from taps to maintain water flow and prevent freezing. To report a water leak on a public water line call 254-933-5823.
10 a.m.
The Killeen ISD girls basketball playoff games set for today have been rescheduled due to inclement weather and road conditions.
Here are the new dates and times for the games:
- Ellison vs. Duncanville
Saturday, Feb. 13
2 p.m.
Cleburne High School - Shoemaker vs DeSoto
Saturday, Feb. 13
2 p.m.
Corsicana High School - Harker Heights @ Mansfield
Saturday, Feb. 13
2 p.m.
Waco Robinson High
8:15 a.m.
The Coryell County Courthouse will be opening later than usual today due to the winter weather. The courthouse is set to open at 11 a.m., according to the office of the county judge.
Residents are encouraged to use online resources to minimize traveling.
8:05 a.m.
The City of Woodway said its city officers and facilities will would open at 10 a.m. Friday due to the inclement weather.
7:40 a.m.
Killeen ISD said it has canceled today's Teacher Planning Day due to bad road conditions. The girls basketball playoff games set for today will now be rescheduled, according to the district. A new date has not yet been selected.
The district added that it will continue monitoring the weather over the weekend and communicate with district families on any developments.
7 a.m.
The Central Texas Food Bank canceled distributions Friday and over the weekend due to the continued bad weather and hazardous road conditions.
The cancelations include the mobile food pantries scheduled for:
- Manor Senior High School
- Waco, TX
- Lexington, TX
- Fredericksburg, TX
6:15 a.m.
The Winter Weather Advisory issued by the National Weather Service for most of Central Texas expired minutes ago, but weather conditions remain below freezing now.
Icy weather conditions
Listen as Killeen emergency dispatch reports people standing on the roads as accidents happen due to icy road conditions:
Saturday Forecast
Expect mostly cloudy skies and lows in the mid-20s tonight. Chilly north winds 10-20 mph will continue to produce wind chill values in the teens and 20s. Overall, most of us will stay dry tonight, but some patchy freezing drizzle/mist will be possible. Through this extended cold spell, it's a good time to check on friends, family, and the elderly to make sure they have adequate ways to stay warm.
When it comes to Sunday's wintry mess, we may start as some sleet or freezing rain, which will then change over to all snow late Sunday night into Monday. As such, the NWS in Fort Worth has placed its Central Texas counties (i.e. all of our region except for WIlliamson, Burnet, Llano, San Saba and Brown counties as well as Brazos County) under a winter storm warning from Saturday through Monday evening. Snowfall amounts will be between 3 to 5 inches with isolated higher amounts possible, especially west of US-281.
Here's the full forecast:
