An Austin woman who once suffered the consequences of forgoing extreme weather preparation is advising her neighbors to get serious ahead of a winter storm. Here’s what she suggests.

TikTok creator Anastasia (@stasiamorrow) posted a video with her advice last month. “Attention all Austin residents: I’m going to give you a quick rundown of the things that you should do to prepare for this winter storm—coming from somebody who didn’t do these and had to pay the price,” she says to start the video.

In the caption, she wrote, “Try to find a place with a generator if you can. Stay safe and check on your loved ones.”

What This Austin Recommends Doing Ahead of This Weekend’s Storm

The first piece of advice is on the subject of plumbing. “All of your faucets need to be dripping. Hot and cold water,” she says. “Both need to be dripping.”

The second recommendation addresses potential water needs. “Next, you want to fill up a bathtub before the storm with water so you have water to use in your toilets and things if your water gets shut off,” she says.

Anastasia’s third suggestion is to charge all of your electronic devices. “All of your power banks,” she says. “Everything. Get it charged now, because you don’t want to be going to your car at 4 in the morning.”

With regard to food, she recommends staying stocked but not over buying. “Don’t go and buy everything,” she says. “Buy the staples. Buy some canned beans. Buy some canned vegetables and buy beef.”

She adds, “If you’re gonna grill, it doesn’t need to be frozen, but preferably freeze it. You can always thaw it out, but that way it stays cold.”

The last recommendation has to do with heating your home properly. “And, finally, before the storm, make sure your thermostat is set hotter than you usually set it in case you lose power,” she says. “You want to make sure that your apartment is still going to be warm and it’s not absolutely freezing.”

Viewers React to the Winter Storm 2026 Preparation Advice

In the comments section, viewers debated whether this level of prep is necessary or if it’s overkill.
“Y’all taking this too seriously,” wrote one viewer. “Looks like a normal day in Minnesota.”

A person replied, “Yeah, and this isn’t Minnesota? Come on, don’t be obtuse. The infrastructure is not made for freezing temperatures, ice, and snow.”

Someone else indicated they aren’t taking it as seriously as Anastasia. They wrote, “I’m playing Fortnite.”[[File:Winter Storm Uri in Austin, Texas 05.jpg|Winter_Storm_Uri_in_Austin,_Texas_05]]

Local officials are urging residents to take the potential of inclement weather seriously, and (responsibly) stocking up on food, batteries, and other emergency items is a good idea. Here is a list of things to grab from HEB or any other local grocery store with inventory still in stock.

Patch Texas contacted Anastasia via TikTok comment and direct message for comment.

The famous forecasting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil of Pennsylvania, saw his shadow on Monday, while Texas’ own forecasting favorite, the armadillo Bee Cave Bob, did not.

Though opinions differ on whether the United States will see a continuation of winter’s chill or an early arrival of spring, one thing is certain: Astronomical spring, determined by the tilt of the Earth toward the sun and marked by the vernal equinox, is about six weeks away, arriving on March 20.

Clouds will dominate Central Texas on Tuesday morning, along with areas of patchy to dense fog that could reduce visibility during the morning commute, especially west of Austin, where winds will be lighter. Morning temperatures will be mild, with lows in the 50s.

Clouds will linger much of the day as a cold front surges into the region. Temperatures ahead of the frontal boundary will warm into the lower 70s, which would be several degrees above the early-February average of 64 degrees.

The current forecast shows the frontal boundary moving through Austin in the afternoon, with gradual clearing of clouds behind it by 6 p.m.

A small chance of scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms will emerge, but precipitation will be limited along the Interstate 35 corridor, with a higher chance of rainfall east of Austin.

“Depending on the speed and the strength of this next frontal boundary,” meteorologists at the regional National Weather Service office said on Monday. “High-resolution (forecast) models are starting to come into agreement, and it now looks like some areas, mainly along and east of the I-35 corridor could see showers and isolated thunderstorms as soon as Tuesday morning prior to this frontal passage.” 

Enjoy this small rain chance because this will be our best shot of some rain this week. 

This front was much weaker than the previous ones, so a significant drop in temperatures is not expected. As high atmospheric pressure builds overhead, skies will remain clear for the rest of the week, with daily temperature swings of more than 30 degrees from morning to afternoon.

“We could see a reinforcing, albeit brief, shot of colder air work its way down to South-Central Texas before the ridge out west slowly moves east on Friday,” the weather service wrote.

Temperatures will steadily climb into the 70s by Friday and could approach 80 degrees over the weekend.

While dry weather will be the norm this week and into the weekend, the weather service’s Climate Prediction Center is hinting about a pattern change by the middle of the month. 

AUSTIN, Texas – A Travis County man is free after spending more than 20 years in prison for a crime prosecutors now say never happened.

For more than two decades, Marshall Moreno sat in a Texas prison, convicted of sexually assaulting his own child.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man’s child sex abuse charges dismissed after more than 20 years in prison

What they’re saying:

The Travis County District Attorney’s Office is now saying he is actually innocent, and they’re working to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“We have put in new processes here and now to make sure that our prosecutors aren’t securing convictions of people who are actually innocent or so that we don’t have processes that deny people’s constitutional rights,” Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said.

Moreno was charged in 2002 after his daughter made an outcry to her therapist. She testified at trial at just 12 years old, telling jurors her father abused her years earlier.

Marshall Moreno (Travis County Jail)

“The primary evidence in the case was the testimony of the victim. There was otherwise scant physical evidence,” Garza said.

In 2003, Moreno was convicted and sentenced to 36 years in prison. Nearly 20 years later, the now-adult daughter reached out to the University of Texas Actual Innocence Clinic and said her testimony was not true. The DA’s Conviction Integrity Unit took the case.

“That separate team reviews the filings, reviews the evidence at hand and really has a goal of testing the conviction and making sure that people who are innocent aren’t sitting in prison,” Garza said.

In a rare move, they asked a judge to declare Moreno actually innocent.

“In 2025, it was only one of two cases in which the Court of Criminal Appeals overturned a case on the basis of actual innocence,” Garza said.

Moreno has since been released from custody.

“It was incredibly significant for Mr. Moreno, who had spent far too long in prison for a crime he did not commit, and we were grateful that because of this process he was able to be home for the holidays this year,” Garza said.