Austin outlook over next week (Post: hotels, neighborhoods, stores)

[raleightransplant]

Hi all--first and foremost. I'm really sorry to hear about what many of you are going through with outages and the roads. That sucks, and it sounds like a massive failure to the residents of Texas. Hopefully massive changes come because of this.

My fiance and I were planning on spending a couple weeks in town (coming down from Chicago). This was presumably a little winter break as of a few weeks back. Our arrival date is Saturday, but I'm not sure if we should just postpone at this point. Given what you're seeing on the ground--is it advisable to reschedule? Do you see things becoming more normal as the milder weekend temps come in, or are these effects likely to be pretty long-lasting. We've been hit with a massive (somewhat historic even for here) snowstorm, but able to stay warm and it's fine. Thanks in advance, and sending love to you all.

[ashbeeigh]

Did you check the weather? Like just a quick google search? We’ll be back to normal, weather wise by then. But power and travel wise, your guess is as good as as anyone else’s.

[Need4Camaro]

I would postpone if you’re talking Feb 20th Saturday.

Saturday is only the first day we will have anything close to normal temperatures for this time of year. I would give it atleast a week and keep close tabs on the news. Power and water is most likely going to be a scarcity for some time after this.

[riaelise]

Postpone

[Trainwreck20]

We could easily still be on a boil water situation. And not guaranteed to have 100% power back.

[AustinExPat]

Definitely postpone.

[kitkatbar]

Water situation is looking iffy (who knows if we'll be boiling water and for how long.)

People are in hotels now because of cold. Probably others may be in hotels in the coming days because of lack of water or burst pipes. Some neighborhoods are being told not to flush toilets because of water pressure issues.

Grocery stores are reporting long lines and are running low on food. When things thaw, the 40% of Central Texas who has had their power off since Sunday and may have lost food supplies due to spoilage may need to restock. Were you going to need to go to a grocery store?

This is probably not the best time to visit.

[raleightransplant]

Thank you to all for the input. Yeah, I've been watching the news on KVUE, and it looks like postponing is definitely the answer. Host was cooperative, so we'll visit in May. Hopefully all of Austin has this event distant in the rearview by then. What a past 11 months it's been for pretty much everyone. I'm sure this event has people losing their minds given all the world has been through over the past year.

[texan2yankee]

Originally Posted by raleightransplant

What a past 11 months it's been for pretty much everyone. I'm sure this event has people losing their minds given all the world has been through over the past year.

most americans have had a difficult 11 months due to the covid epidemic and that difficulty won't abate for months. good news is vaccines are developed and being distributed.

the texas frigid weather is a once in 100 year event, but the impact on water and fuel pipes will prolong the pain for another few months due to pipe breakage and repair. thank god for trained plumbers. they will be busier than they already were prior to this weather event. you are right to postpone any trip to texas.

PS. we aren't "losing our minds". texans come from resilient stock!

[ClaraC]

Originally Posted by texan2yankee

most americans have had a difficult 11 months due to the covid epidemic and that difficulty won't abate for months. good news is vaccines are developed and being distributed.

the texas frigid weather is a once in 100 year event, but the impact on water and fuel pipes will prolong the pain for another few months due to pipe breakage and repair. thank god for trained plumbers. they will be busier than they already were prior to this weather event. you are right to postpone any trip to texas.

PS. we aren't "losing our minds". texans come from resilient stock!

Most of us have been behaving civilly, but Austin Electric linemen have been assaulted verbally and even physically (with rock throwing!) while they're trying to restore power. Geez.