Winter Storm Blair has finished moving through the central plains and mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., bringing heavy snow and cold weather conditions. With another round of winter weather expected to impact the Southern U.S., WaterISAC is sharing some winter weather preparedness resources to help utilities enhance their resilience.
The severe winter weather caused significant infrastructure impacts, including power outages to hundreds of thousands of customers across multiple states and significant transportation challenges. In addition, several water utilities in Kentucky faced impacts that led to some reduction in customer services, according to CISA. The City of Richmond was also forced to issue a boil water advisory due to a power outage. As large parts of the country dig out of the snow, more winter weather is on its way. The next storm will begin to spread snow and ice from the Texas/Mexico border Wednesday night and eventually track across much of the southern and potentially eastern U.S. toward the end of the week. Read more at USA Today or at the Weather Channel.
To help utilites prepare for winter-related hazards, WaterISAC is sharing some best practices and resources. Utilities can prepare for winter hazards and enhance their operational resilience before a storm hits. Indeed, many utilities in Texas were significantly impacted by Winter Storm Uri in February 2021. Austin Water, for instance, lost power and many of its pipes froze due to extreme cold, leading to long-term water outages. To mitigate against future impacts, Austin Water got to work insulating its exposed pipes against extreme cold and improving its power resilience by constructing electrical substations at each treatment plant. The utility also now maintains a full stock of winter supplies and safety supplies at each facility.
To assist utilities preparedness efforts, EPA created an Incident Action Checklist for extreme cold and winter storms. This checklist offers detailed guidance to help prepare for, respond to, and recover from winter weather. Additionally, utilities can track winter weather via multiple weather forecasting tools. NOAA has compiled a list of nine open-source forecasting tools to help stakeholders understand where, when, and how much snow, ice, and wind is predicted. FEMA also provides multiple resources and best practices for preparing for winter hazards. Access the Incident Action Checklist – Extreme Cold and Winter Storms at EPA.
Utility personnel are also encouraged to review this NOAA resource for induvial preparedness for winter weather - Prepare! Don't Let a Winter Storm Take You by Surprise.
