Austin, TX

Winter weather: Central Texas businesses, services affected by possible snow, ice

Published

1 year ago

January 20, 2025

Winter weather: Central Texas businesses, services affected by possible snow, ice

AUSTIN, Texas – Central Texas businesses, organizations and government entities are adjusting their operations due to the arctic blast that’s impacting the region.

The backstory:

A Winter Storm Warning has been issued from 6 p.m. today, Jan. 20, to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21. This means snow and sleet are possible and could lead to some travel issues overnight.

FOX 7 Austin’s Zack Shields says that all the pieces of the snow puzzle will come together tonight from midnight to sunrise tomorrow. The highest snow totals will stay east of Austin with 1 to 2″ possible.

Many school districts, private and charter schools, and colleges and universities have decided to close their campuses for Tuesday, Jan. 21 with decisions pending for Wednesday.

What businesses are impacted?

H-E-B

The Texas grocery store chain says they are temporarily adjusting store hours for the following stores:

Greater San Antonio area

Boerne, Bulverde, Fredericksburg, all Kerrville stores, and all New Braunfels stores will close at 8 p.m. on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.
All other San Antonio area stores will close at 10 p.m. on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.
Central Market will close at 10 p.m. on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.

Central Texas area

Kyle, Lockhart, Luling, and all San Marcos stores will close at 8 p.m. on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.
Wimberley will close at 7 p.m. on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.
All other Central Texas area stores will close at regular hours on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.
Central Market stores will close at 10 p.m. on Jan. 20 and open at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.
Stores in Belton, Harker Heights, Gatesville, Killeen, Temple, and Waco area will operate normal business hours.

For more information, click here.

What services are affected?

CapMetro

CapMetro services are suspended after 9 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 20. Riders are advised to take final trips before 9 p.m. Night Owl buses are canceled.

Due to MLK Day, Rail, UT Shuttles and Express are not in service.

CapMetro says that it expects service will also be impacted on Tuesday, Jan. 21 and will share updates here.

Central Health and CommUnityCare

All Central Health and CommUnityCare clinics and offices will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Central Health and CommUnityCare team members are contacting patients with information about how the weather will impact their appointments. Patients seen by third-party providers will be contacted by those providers.

Central Health Eligibility Services team members are contacting applicants with appointments to reschedule or provide information about how to apply online and over the phone. An announcement on Wednesday closures will be issued Tuesday.

Central TX VA Health Care System

VA outpatient clinics in Austin, Cedar Park, LaGrange and Bryan/College Station will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Local VA staff are reaching out to patrons affected by the closures to reschedule appointments either via VA Video Connect (VVC), Telehealth, or in-person appointments.

All clinics are expected to reopen on Wednesday. All other facilities and services remain open for normal operating hours.

Integral Care

Integral Care clinics, administrative offices, and other non-essential programs will be closed on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Psychiatric Emergency Services, all other crisis services and all residential services are continuing normal operations.

Anyone in need of urgent help can call 512-472-HELP (4357), then press 1 for English, then 1 for immediate assistance.

YMCA of Greater Austin

All Greater Austin YMCA centers will be closing all facilities on Monday Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. and expects to reopen facilities at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

What government offices are impacted?

City of Austin

All City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department facilities will be closed on Tuesday, January 21, except those being utilized as Warming Centers.

Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax announced the City will be under modified operations on Tuesday, Jan. 21, requiring critical employees to telework if they are able.

City of Georgetown

City of Georgetown facilities will be closed to the public on Tuesday, Jan. 21, in response to winter weather. Tuesday’s closures include:

Art Center, 816 S. Main St.
Animal Shelter, 110 Walden Drive
City Hall, 808 Martin Luther King, Jr. St.
Council and Courts Buildi,.ng (including Municipal Court), 510 W. Ninth St.
Garey Park, 6450 RM 2243
Georgetown Municipal Complex, 300-1 Industrial Ave.
GoGeo paratransit services
Grace Heritage Center, 817 S. Main St.
Parks and Recreation Administration, 1101 N. College St.
Planning Department, 809 Martin Luther King, Jr. St.
Public Library, 402 W. Eighth St.
Public Safety Operations and Training Center, Police Records and Fire Support Services offices, 3500 D.B. Wood Road
Recreation Center, 1003 N. Austin Ave.
Tennis Center, 400 Serenada Drive
Visitors Center, 103 W. Seventh St.

Board and Commission meetings scheduled for Tuesday have been cancelled. The Georgetown Executive Airport will remain open.

Solid Waste and Recycling Collection

As of 3 p.m. on Monday, Texas Disposal Systems was planning to collect landfill trash or recycling on Tuesday, Jan. 21. If you are on a Tuesday route, please put your carts out by 7 a.m. as per usual. Residents should leave their cart at the curb until it is collected, as TDS may run late or decide to delay routes until the following day. The Transfer Station, 250 W.L. Walden Drive, will remain open on Tuesday.

City of New Braunfels

The City of New Braunfels is making operational changes to city services due to the weather:

Das Rec will close at 6 p.m. Jan. 20
All non-essential City services will delay opening until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21st. This includes City Hall and other administrative offices, Municipal Court, the Public Library, the Westside Community Center, Das Rec, the Civic & Convention Center, and the City Municipal Building.
Garbage and Recycling collection will have a delayed start and will resume normal operations when roads are determined to be safe.
The Landa Park Golf Course will be closed through Wednesday, Jan. 22 and will re-open on Thursday, Jan. 23 at noon.
Restrooms, water fountains, and other similar facilities in all city parks are temporarily closed.
The Downtown Advisory Board meeting scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 21 has been cancelled and will be rescheduled for a later date.

Travis County

Travis County Judge Andy Brown announced Travis County’s non-essential offices, services, and facilities will be closed on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Essential emergency personnel will continue to report for duty. Travis County employees who have questions about their department can reach out to their immediate supervisor.

The Travis County Commissioners Court voting session scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 9 a.m. is cancelled.

Williamson County

Williamson County offices will be closed on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

The Source: Information comes from various governments, businesses and organizations

Winter WeatherSevere WeatherBusinessConsumerCapital MetroAustinSan AntonioKyleLockhartSan MarcosLulingWimberleyTransportation

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Austin, TX

Austin Police Department updates procedures after controversial deportation

Published

1 hour ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Austin Police Department updates procedures after controversial deportation

AUSTIN, Texas — An update to the Austin Police Department’s (APD) procedures outlines that officers are not required to contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when a person is found to have an ICE administrative warrant if they have no other arrestable charge.

The update follows a controversial deportation from January, when a woman’s disturbance call to APD led to her detainment, alongside her 5-year-old child, who is a U.S. citizen.

The incident led to questions from the community regarding the way APD is supposed to interact with ICE.

In a March 4 memo, APD Police Chief Lisa Davis said that the directives provided by ICE administrative warrants could be confusing in their wording.

According to Davis, officers have not historically regularly encountered administrative warrants while using the National Crime Information Center database, which is used to conduct identity checks. However, in 2025, federal agencies began entering a large volume of administrative warrants into the system.

According to the memo, administrative warrants are formatted in a way that looks similar to criminal warrants in the system.

The APD General Orders have been updated to clearly define the difference between criminal warrants and ICE administrative warrants, as well as specific instructions for how ICE administrative warrants should be handled moving forward.

“APD recognizes the sensitivity of this issue, not only within our city but across the nation. These policies were updated to provide clarity to our officers, ensure compliance with state law, and maintain officer discretion guided by supervisory oversight and operational consideration,” Davis said in the memo.

The updated procedures instruct officers to contact their supervisor when a person is found to have only an ICE administrative warrant, but no other arrestable criminal charge. From there, the officer or their supervisor may contact ICE, but is not required to.

“Austin Police and City of Austin leadership share a paramount goal for Austin to be a safe city for everyone who lives, works, or visits here,” Davis said in the memo. “We particularly want to ensure that anyone who witnesses or is the victim of a crime feels secure in contacting the police for help.”

According to the memo, the entire APD staff will be required to complete new training regarding these updates.

“In concert with the policy updates, APD is launching a public webpage to help people understand their rights and provide links to resources available from the City of Austin and community organizations, such as Know Your Rights training,” Davis said in the memo. “The webpage will also include information on the option of using APD Victim Services as an alternative to calling 9-1-1, when appropriate, and links to all general orders and policies related to immigration.”

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Austin, TX

Texas Plans Second Execution of the Year

Published

14 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Texas Plans Second Execution of the Year

Cedric Ricks spoke in his own defense at his 2013 murder trial, something most defendants accused of a terrible crime do not do. Ricks confessed that he had killed his girlfriend, Roxann Sanchez, and her 8-year-old son. He admitted he was aggressive and had trouble controlling his anger, stating that he was “sorry about everything.” […]

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Austin, TX

Will the rest of Austin allergies seasons be as bad as cedar this year?

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Will the rest of Austin allergies seasons be as bad as cedar this year?

Austin had a particularly itchy and drippy cedar fever season to start the year. Many winter days, from late December into February, had high or very high ashe juniper (aka cedar) pollen counts.

Central Texas has a year-round allergy season with mold popping up at any time. For the more traditional spring and fall allergy seasons, forecasters at AccuWeather are predicting some of the allergens across the country will be worse this year than average.

Texas, though, is a different story.

For grass allergies, which happen now through September, AccuWeather estimates Austin will have an average season. However, just west of the Interstate 35 corridor in the Hill Country to almost El Paso, that season is expected to be worse than normal.

“Texas may experience above-average grass pollen for a few weeks,” AccuWeather’s allergy report said, “though the season could be shorter-lived compared to northern areas.”

It all depends on the weather

How much rain we get in the next six months and the perennial Texas heat will all affect the growing season for grasses and weeds, as well as the amount of pollen trees produce. The Farmers’ Almanac and the Old Farmers Almanac are both predicting a wetter and warmer spring.

Rain helps plants grow, which can increase pollen production over time. However, rainfall during allergy season can also bring temporary relief by washing pollen out of the air. That’s what we’re expecting this weekend, with our first meaningful rain chance in nearly three weeks. Tree and weed pollen levels might briefly drop, but mold could spike because it thrives in damp, humid weather.

If spring continues with excessive heat like we saw in February, it could limit the growth of some plants and trees. Extreme heat can reduce how much they grow, and how much pollen they produce. On the other hand, if we get a healthy balance of rain and only slightly above-normal temperatures — not extreme heat — pollen counts could climb. That’s especially true as we head into April, typically our windiest month of the year, which helps spread pollen more easily.

How can you treat allergies in Austin?

If you are feeling the effects of allergies, here are some things you can do to lessen them:

Start taking allergy medication at least two weeks before your allergen’s season is supposed to start. Keep taking your allergy medication throughout your allergen’s season, even on low-pollen days.
Vary your allergy medication. You can take a nasal spray, an eye drop and an oral antihistamine at the same time to treat the different symptoms. If one kind of allergy medication isn’t working, consult your doctor about whether you should add a second one or switch out the medication.
Take a shower before going to bed.
Take off outside clothes or shoes when you get into the house.
Do a daily nasal wash such as a neti pot or saline spray.
Consider seeing an allergist to get drops or shots to lessen your reaction to the allergen.

Consider these household tips to improve your chances of keeping allergens away:

Change the filters in your house regularly during cedar fever season.
Vacuum and sweep regularly.
Change your sheets, especially your pillow regularly.
Keep doors and windows closed.
Clean out the vents in your home.
Have your home tested for indoor allergens such as mold.
Wash and brush the animals in your house to lessen the amount of allergens in the air.
Wear a mask outside or inside while you are trying to lessen the pollen or mold indoors.

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