Gov. Greg Abbott activated state emergency resources ahead of anticipated cold, ice, and snow conditions across the state this weekend.

Several emergency declarations have already been issued as a massive winter storm barrels toward more than 35 states, putting more than 200 million people in its path and threatening “considerable disruption” to New York with up to a foot of snow.

State officials are taking action as Texas prepares for dangerously cold temperatures and winter precipitation.

Governor Greg Abbott announced that he directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to activate state emergency response resources ahead of potential winter weather impacts expected across the state beginning Thursday.

Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the TDEM to activate state emergency response resources ahead of potential winter weather impacts expected across the state beginning Thursday.

Officials said they do not expect a repeat of the widespread power outages that occurred in 2021, although some Texans could see “local, isolated” outages due to fallen tree branches or ice on power lines.

UPDATE, 1/21/2026, 10:00 a.m.: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has activated state emergency response resources ahead of expected winter weather this weekend. As of Wednesday morning, the latest forecasts call for up to 65 consecutive hours of below-freezing temperatures, stretching across Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday.

It has been almost five years since the grid nearly failed due to frigid temperatures, snow and ice, which led to a spike in electricity demand in February 2021.