Connect with us

Austin, TX

State agencies prep for winter storm, boost emergency response

Published

on

State agencies prep for winter storm, boost emergency response


State emergency response resources have been implemented ahead of winter weather.

The Texas Division of Emergency Management announced Saturday that the agency and it’s state partners have begun mobilizing state resources for the upcoming weather.

“TDEM and our state agency partners are prepared for upcoming winter weather impacts and Texans are urged to take personal preparedness measures ahead of time,” said Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd. “I urge all Texans to stay informed, take proactive measures to protect their families, and follow guidance from local authorities as this winter weather event approaches.”

TDEM is increasing the level of the Texas State Emergency Operations Center (SOC) to Level II (Escalated Response) at 7:00 a.m. on Monday.

Advertisement

ALSO | Arctic front brings chance of snow to Austin; officials urge home preparations

TDEM has requested representatives from the following Texas Emergency Management Council agencies report to the SOC on Monday and ensure their resources are mobilizing and are ready for immediate deployment:

  • Texas Department of Transportation: Winter weather roadway equipment and crews pre-treating and treating roadways; personnel and equipment to assist with traffic control and road closures
  • Texas Division of Emergency Management: Incident Management Teams; personnel working with local partners to update warming center maps
  • Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service: Public Works Response Teams
  • Texas A&M Forest Service: Saw crews; motor graders and personnel to assist with snow/ice clearance
  • Texas Department of State Health Services: Texas Emergency Medical Task Force Winter Weather Packages including medics and ambulances
  • Texas Health and Human Services Commission: Personnel to provide information on available services through the 2-1-1 Texas Information Referral Network; Coordinating with long term care providers across the threat area
  • Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Air/water/wastewater monitoring
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service: Disaster assessment and recovery agents
  • Texas Animal Health Commission: Coordinating animal resource needs
  • Texas Department of Agriculture: Coordinating agricultural resource needs
  • Public Utility Commission of Texas: Power outage monitoring and coordinating with utility providers across the threat area
  • Railroad Commission of Texas: Monitoring of the state’s natural gas supply and communication with the oil and gas industry
  • Texas Department of Public Safety: Texas Highway Patrol Troopers to patrol Texas roadways
  • Texas Parks & Wildlife Department: Game Wardens to support local law enforcement; high-profile vehicles to assist stranded motorists
  • Texas National Guard: High-profile vehicles and personnel to support stranded motorists
  • Texas Department of Information Resources: Monitoring technology infrastructure
  • Texas Education Agency: Monitoring school district needs across the state
  • Texas Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (Texas VOAD): Coordinating of volunteer organizations across the state

People can find winter weather resources, safety tips, warming center information, and current road conditions online in the Texas Disaster Portal located at tdem.texas.gov.



Source link

Austin, TX

Live updates: Scattered storms make their way through Central Texas

Published

on

Live updates: Scattered storms make their way through Central Texas


AUSTIN (KXAN) – Severe thunderstorms are moving through Central Texas Thursday evening. Here is the latest forecast from the First Warning Weather team.

Here are the main headlines:

Thursday

9:04 p.m.: KXAN viewer Tiffany Morgan sent in this photo from Pflugerville.

Sunset in Pflugerville (Courtesy: Tiffany Morgan)

8:29 p.m.: KXAN’s Andy Way is in Georgetown and sent in this photo of the orange sky.

Advertisement

8:14 p.m.: KXAN’s Madison Myers is in Marble Falls tracking the storms and sent in this video.

8:00 p.m.: See Austin area rainfall totals here.

7:30 p.m.: Low Water Crossing #6 7748 Spicewood Springs Rd in Austin is closed.

7:22 p.m.: Oncor is reporting a power outage in Taylor affecting almost 1,500 customers. The full Oncor outage map can be found here.

7:11 p.m.: Austin Energy is reporting one power outage affecting 1,500+ customers in west Austin, north of Emma Long Metro Park, in the Glenlake neighborhood.

7:06 p.m.: Multiple road closures are being reported in Marble Falls.

Advertisement
  • 800 Blk Ave L  Between Broadway St. & Ninth St.
  • 1300 Blk Broadway St (Childress Park) Between Ave L & Ave N
  • 800 Blk Main St. Between Broadway St. & Ninth St.

6:49 p.m.: A Flash Flood Warning is in effect for northwestern Blanco, southwestern Burnet and southeastern Llano until 9:45 p.m. Life threatening flash flooding is possible with this storm.



Source link

Continue Reading

Austin, TX

Arizona State softball heads to super regionals at Texas with momentum

Published

on

Arizona State softball heads to super regionals at Texas with momentum


play

  • ASU is on a nine-game winning streak, including a Big 12 tournament championship.
  • Coach Megan Bartlett believes the team is playing with incredible momentum and confidence.

Momentum is not tangible. It is not something that can be picked up and felt. It cannot literally be seen, but while hard to grasp and seize, momentum is certainly building in Tempe.

No. 19 Arizona State softball (44-16) is preparing to head to the Austin Super Regional in the 2026 NCAA Softball Tournament to take on No. 3 Texas (42-10), with a spot in the Women’s College World Series on the line. It’s a homecoming for coach Megan Bartlett, who coached at Texas before moving to ASU.

Advertisement

Ahead of last week’s Bryan-College Station Regional, after shocking everybody by winning the Big 12 tournament, Bartlett said to The Arizona Republic, “When you have momentum at your back in the postseason, you become real dangerous, real quick.”

Those words proved to be prescient. 

ASU opened up the Bryan-College Station Regional with a run-rule win over McNeese. In the next game, ASU beat No. 15 Texas A&M, coached by former ASU coach Trisha Ford, 4-3, setting up a potentially decisive game in a rematch.

play

ASU softball shocked the field and won the Big 12 tournament

After an 11-13 regular season, Arizona State softball shocked the field and won the Big 12 tournament. Next up is the Bryan-College Station Regional.

Advertisement

Then came redshirt senior Brooklyn Ulrich. 

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Ulrich uncorked a titanic grand slam – ending the game right there, 9-1, and sending ASU to the next round.

Just like that, the Sun Devils have become real dangerous, real quick.

Sun Devils underdogs again — and that’s OK

“They just keep doing their thing,” Bartlett said May 20. “People keep asking, ‘What’d you do with these kids?’

Advertisement

“Nothing. It was the same message over and over again. We got healthy, they put the pieces together. At that point, it’s been a lot of confidence and belief. They’re certainly playing with some incredible momentum at their back right now.”

Since losing three straight to Texas Tech in the second-to-last series of the regular season late last month, ASU has won nine games in a row, including the takedown of Texas Tech to win the Big 12 tournament.

The temperature is quickly rising in Arizona, with the end of spring and the start of summer looming. But that’s not the only thing getting hot.

play

Arizona State softball thrives with Red Mountain alum Brooklyn Ulrich

Arizona native Brooklyn Ulrich talks about her time growing up at Red Mountain and her journey to playing at Arizona State.

Advertisement

“We feel really confident going into the weekend,” said junior infielder Katie Chester, who hit a two-run home run in the first game against Texas A&M. “We’ve been saying, ‘The Devils are getting hot.’ And we got hot at the right time in the season.”

Despite the confidence built over the past few weeks, ASU is still an underdog. Texas is the defending NCAA champion, coming off ending Oklahoma’s dynastic run of four consecutive NCAA titles.

ASU is trying to use the outsider tag to its advantage.

Brooklyn Ulrich exemplifies ASU’s personality

“We know we’re the underdog going in,” Chester said. “We have nothing to lose. We just go in and play how we play. That’s why we’ve been winning all the games we have.”

For Ulrich, a Mesa native who attended Mesa Westwood and then Red Mountain, this is a moment that she was told wasn’t possible. 

Advertisement

As a kid, she hoped to attend ASU. There’s even a photo of a young Ulrich, sporting a Mesa Mountain View shirt, along the fence at an ASU game. But Ulrich was told by Ford’s Sun Devils coaching staff at the time that she wasn’t good enough to play at ASU.

Ulrich shifted her plans and decided to attend Marshall, where she played for the next four years. When she went into the transfer portal for her final season of eligibility, she was the first player Bartlett targeted. 

A homegrown talent shining for the hometown team could have a far-reaching impact for Bartlett to retain in-state athletes.

“We would love all those Brooklyns to just stay home from the get-go,” Bartlett said. “BK is such a proud Sun Devil. This was the dream from when she was little. We were so thrilled to get her. She’s a super resilient kid. She’s been a tremendous asset. We want those superstar, Arizonian kids to stay home. Be the next BK.”

Advertisement

Ulrich, typically soft-spoken, is trying to soak it all in. She’s been thinking of this for years — helping lead ASU.

“When I entered the portal, I said I’m not playing anywhere but Arizona State. I’m going to go play there,” Ulrich said. “It has met every expectation, every dream. I used to come here as a little girl, watch softball. We had season tickets right in front of the press box. I just loved it. It’s everything that I could have ever dreamed of.”

This season isn’t over yet — there’s still a national championship in the balance.

But Bartlett was blunt when asked how people should remember this season.

“Arizona State’s back,” Bartlett said. “We’re going to continue to do nothing but get better.”

Advertisement

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@usatodayco.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.





Source link

Continue Reading

Austin, TX

GOP Texas attorney general candidates push on despite no Trump endorsement

Published

on

GOP Texas attorney general candidates push on despite no Trump endorsement


We are in the middle of early voting for the runoff elections, and the battle for the Republican nomination for attorney general is heating up.

What they’re saying:

Advertisement

Congressman Chip Roy spent Wednesday morning with members of the Austin Police Association. He came to show support for those wearing the badge and to voice his support for legislative proposals that are focused on liberal district attorneys.

“This is not the same as federalism. Like some people talk about it and say, well, you know, you don’t like the federal government reaching into Texas. Yeah, true. Do I want Austin micromanaging the rest of the state? I do not. But do I think the state has the legal ability? And frankly, I think it’s a moral duty. To make sure that the entire state of Texas is safe for its people? Yes, I do,” said Roy.

Congressman Roy is in a runoff for the GOP Attorney General nomination with state senator Mayes Middleton. The Galveston Republican has also been busy making campaign stops and rallying his supporters.

Advertisement

“You got to go earn this. You got go fight for it. And I am never retreating from Washington DC because I’m never going to Washington DC. I have always known the fight is here. And the most important thing in this race and as attorney general, the number one thing is defeating the left,” said Middleton.

Both candidates are considered staunch conservatives, but neither was included in President Trump’s Tuesday endorsement of current AG Ken Paxton. 

Advertisement

President Trump Wednesday morning defended his endorsement of Ken Paxton for the Texas GOP Senate nomination. He made the pick despite recent polls that show Paxton is trailing Democratic nominee James Talarico. 

The Paxton endorsement is an example of how the GOP Senate runoff between Paxton and incumbent John Cornyn continues to suck the political air out of all the other runoff races. 

FOX 7 asked Roy and Middleton if they were disappointed.

Advertisement

“Well, like I would be honored to have the president’s endorsement, his endorsement in this race here. And look, I’m the pro-Trump candidate,” said Middleton.

Roy also took the presidential pass in stride when asked if he was disappointed no official endorsement had been made in his race.

Advertisement

“We’ve had a lot of great conversations about this race. The president is an engaged guy across the country, but he’s been focusing predominantly on federal races,” said Roy.

Middleton’s campaign has accused Roy of not being a true Trump supporter, citing what the Congressman did and didn’t after Trump’s first-term House Impeachment vote. Roy responded by saying the President knows he is a great ally.

Advertisement

“I’ve delivered on the Big, Beautiful Bill. I’m leading his favorite piece of legislation in his words, the Save America Act. I’m the author of that,” said Roy. 

“And we’re delivering a message that’s resonating that you ought to have a real lawyer as your attorney general. Somebody who’s been in court, prosecuted bad guys. Been, the first assistant attorney general run complex litigation not effectively manage your family royalties, never having been in court,” said Roy.

Middleton’s message is also how he is a different kind of conservative than Roy.

Advertisement

“And look, every vote’s going to count. We know turnout is lower in a runoff than it is in the March 3 primary. But the same things that I’m doing. They got me in first place on March 3. I’m going now. And I will make sure that I protect and defend our great state. And I say this as well, a lazy campaigner turns into a lazy elected official.”

The other side:

Advertisement

Texas Democrats are also having a contentious runoff for their AG nomination. 

Joe Jaworski, the former mayor of Galveston, and state Senator Nathan Johnson, who is from the DFW Metroplex, have taken a few political and personal shots at each other.

The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski

Advertisement

2026 ElectionsTexas PoliticsAustin



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending