More than a quarter-million businesses and households in Central and East Texas did not have power Wednesday morning as a winter storm persisted, immobilizing portions of the state with slick roadways and freezing temperatures.

Approximately 283,000 customers, out of about 12.7 million tracked, did not have power shortly before noon, according to PowerOutage.us. The state’s main power grid remained stable. On Tuesday, Texas power officials said the grid had sufficient reserves to ensure stability through the weather event.

It was not clear how long the local outages would last.

A spokesperson for Austin Energy, which reported more than 147,000 outages, said crews were working with frozen equipment and amid brutal weather elements to restore what appeared to be widespread local outages.

“The roads themselves are not too terrible except there’s branches everywhere,” said Jennifer Herber, who has been hearing her own tree cracking and seen tree limbs fall. “We want customers to know we are doing it as safely and quickly as we can.”

Utility officials said some customers may be without power for 12 to 24 hours.

The causes of electricity outages Wednesday were unlike those two years ago, when the state’s power grid nearly collapsed during a catastrophic freeze that killed hundreds of Texans. This year’s winter storm is not as cold, prolonged or widespread as the one two years ago. And the current outages are due mostly to localized issues like downed power lines, not a problem with power grid itself. The 2021 storm saddled the state with days of subfreezing temperatures and widespread power outages that lasted days and caused billions of dollars in damages while many died trying to keep warm.

Meteorologists this week warned of possibly difficult traveling conditions. State officials have been urging people in the affected areas to avoid travel unless it was imperative.

“As severe winter weather continues across Texas, please remain aware & heed guidance from local officials,” Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted Wednesday. “If you need to drive, check road conditions in your area at http://DriveTexas.org. Report power outages to your local provider.”

Winter storm warnings and advisories, as well as ice storm warnings and advisories, remained in effect throughout the state from Amarillo to the Houston area, according to the National Weather Service.

“One final surge of moisture is anticipated to overrun the subfreezing air at the surface today and lead to more icy conditions from the Lone Star State through a majority of the Mid-South,” NWS meteorologists wrote in a morning forecast. “Additional ice accumulations up to a half inch are forecast across much of central and north-central Texas, as well as parts of southern Arkansas.”

This article was written by ALEJANDRO SERRANO of The Texas Tribune.  The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.  This article originally appeared at: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/02/01/texas-ice-storm-power-outages/