A fresh bout of bad weather expected overnight Tuesday and early Wednesday morning could further destabilize compromised trees and power lines, leading to additional power outages and complicating restoration efforts, the City of Austin has warned.
Forecasted rain showers and scattered thunderstorms Tuesday afternoon and night – some of which may be strong to severe – could combine with damaging gusts of wind up to 35 m.p.h. to place additional stress on already weakened tree branches and bring them into contact with energy infrastructure such as power lines, power poles, and transformers.
“Our trees are vulnerable after the winter storm and may have broken limbs high up in their branches that cannot be seen easily,” said Juan Ortiz, Director of the City’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. “With strong wind in the forecast, additional tree limbs may fall, potentially creating further damage and causing new outages. That’s why we’re asking people to be extra attentive today, and to bear with us while we address new challenges as they arise.”
As of Tuesday morning, more than 98 percent of Austin Energy customers had power restored.
Sunday is still the estimated date for full restoration, however, according to General Manager Jackie Sargent on Tuesday, the vast majority will have the lights back on well before that.
