Millions of Americans were without power as pounds of ice and snow hammered down on the big state of Texas. On February 13, 2021, Texas was hit with the biggest snowstorm they’ve ever received. The state knew the storm would hit but wasn’t prepared for the widespread damage and panic it would cause. Texas residents were stranded in cold homes for days with limited or no access to heat. People went without food, water, and other essential resources for days. Temperatures reached below 20 degrees causing six homeless people to be found dead and thousands with nowhere to go. As time went on, the destruction kept increasing in homes. Water pipes froze over and began to burst, leaving multitudes of houses flooded and destroying many belongings. Texas is known for its hot, dry weather so when the snow hit, the state didn’t know what to do. Unlike the northeast, they don’t have tons of salt to lay down to make the roads safe to drive on. The plows took days to finally plow the 5-8 inches of ice that built up. Due to the ice build-up, a massive 133 car pile-up occurred in North Fort Worth Texas leaving six people dead and many injured.

Texas has already begun to clean up the mess this storm has left them with. Estimates for the damage reach up to nearly $200,000,000,000 for the state. This has been the most widespread disaster to hit the state. As of February 18, 2 million Americans have had their power restored. Many residents are still without power and are being told to hang tight for a few more days. Copious amounts of volunteer groups have been raising money to help those still in need. Hospitals have continued to stay open with plenty of beds for those without any shelter or heat within the surrounding areas. Numerous Go Fund Me accounts have been made to aid those in need in Texas and have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. We asked Taylor Maynard about her views on volunteering and she quotes “I would love to help out; I’ll have to look into ways to help.” Texas is getting as many donations as they can and putting all the volunteer groups to work. 

As a state who often gets mounds of snow over the winter months, we don’t quite understand how detrimental this has been to the south. Our fellow classmate Mya Giordano states “I really can’t imagine what’s going on in Texas right now. There’s just so much happening that puts the whole state in crisis.” Most Americans were shocked about how much snow had pummeled down on the state within just a few hours. Governor Greg Abott is doing as much as he can for his state and hopes they will be able to recover very soon.