The arctic blast is predicted to hit North Texas Saturday night, giving residents only about few hours to prepare for dangerously low temperatures.
“We’re getting ready for the cold, so we got toilet paper, paper towels, and water,” Sydney Marek, who went grocery shopping on Friday evening, explained. “They had it all. Except for the drink, nothing was lacking.”
She wants to finish all of her shopping right away. Marek does not intend to leave the house if the roads become dangerous on Sunday or Monday.
“Because last year I wrecked my car on the ice,” she went on to say. “That’s not happening this year.”
Nobody wants to have their pipes freeze and then break.
“They had a big display of this, and it seemed like everybody in the store was running for this, grabbing at least one or two of them,” said JJ Lozoya, who bought two faucet covers at Home Depot based on a recommendation from a neighbor.
He relocated to Fort Worth from Las Vegas in the new year and has never experienced the biting cold.
“I’ve heard about letting the faucets drip and keeping cabinets open, stuff like that,” she added. “So we’ll see how it goes.”
North Texans who recall the extreme winter in February 2021 that left millions without power across the state are stockpiling firewood.
“That’s what we lived on for three days,” Jonathan Cardona explained. “We had enough firewood, so we had our fireplace on the whole time because we were out of power for 3 days.”
Four full truckloads of firewood sold rapidly Friday near I-35 W off Basswood Boulevard.
“We’ve had a line all the way down the road here to the traffic light, just people waiting,” said Douglas Broadway, who came from Bowie with firewood to sell.
He and the other vendors will be back out early Saturday morning, and they expect even more customers.
“I just love doing it, I love being out here with the people,” Broadway went on to say. “However, unfortunately, the only time you can be out here selling firewood? When it’s bitterly cold.”
It’s not just your house that needs to be prepared right now. If you know you’ll be driving in the coming days, check the air in all of your tires and make sure you have a full tank of gas.
Include extra clothing and blankets in your car. If you become stranded on the side of the road without heat, you’ll be able to use those to keep warm.