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As of Thursday morning, more than 70,000 Texas residents are without power as a winter storm wreaked havoc on the state, reported The Hill.
WFAA reported that man residents have been reporting downed trees as sleet, ice, freezing rain, and snow hit the northern part of the state.
On top of power outages, residents are also dealing with travel issues as roads are slick and hundreds of flights have been canceled.
So how long will the ice last? The NWS Fort Worth said:
"Wintry precipitation will come to and end from west to east during the day today, but NO MELTING will occur due to temperatures staying well below freezing and skies remaining cloudy."
Earlier this week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that power outages could be possible, but rolling blackouts weren't expected, as they were last year. He said on Tuesday:
"No one can guarantee that there won't be a ‘load shed event.’ But what we will work and strive to achieve, and what we're prepared to achieve, is that the power is gonna stay on across the entire state. "
Texas Public Utility Commission Chairman Peter Lake said in a statement on Wednesday:
"The grid is ready, and the lights will stay on for Texans. We have in place monumental reforms requiring winterization of electric generation and transmission operations and programs that will make more power available more quickly when needed."