City officials are preparing to safeguard vulnerable residents as potentially dangerous winter conditions arrive in North Texas this week.
Throughout the predicted winter storm, recreation centers and city libraries will remain open and operate as warming centers.
Throughout Dallas, crews began sanding major roads with a particular focus dedicated to bridges and hilly areas.
Six snowplows are now on standby, four more than those initially available during the historic winter storm of February 2021.
Emergency operations centers – overseeing all city responses – have been launched.
Rooms are reserved at the Omni Hotel near Dallas City Hall for city workers and 9-1-1 operators to ensure they are accessible when needed.
Dallas Office of Homeless Solutions Director Christine Crossley revealed that the temporary homeless shelter organized within the Fair Park automobile building could remain open through February 5.
Crossley added that the city expects around 600 people to take temporary refuge within the shelter.
She added that those individuals would be COVID-tested, with people who test positive being quarantined within another facility area.
Director of Emergency Management for the City of Dallas Rocky Vaz said that current preparations for the imminent winter storm have placed the city in a “much better position” than in 2021, when the unprecedented weather wreaked havoc.
Vaz added that earlier briefings with officials from the local branch of the National Weather Service and energy provider Oncor indicate that the winter storm this time should not be as severe as its predecessor in precipitation.
City officials are now urging Dallas residents to refrain from traveling unless it becomes situationally imperative.