This story was last updated at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2026.
CPS Energy crews continued working Saturday to restore power after severe storms knocked out electricity across the San Antonio area Friday night.
As of 7:30 p.m., the CPS Energy outage map showed 59,963 customers without power, down from 112,000 at the peak of the storm.
See real-time power outage information: CPS outage map
CPS Energy Interim President and CEO Frank Almaraz warned that some customers could remain without electricity for several days.
“We have down lines, broken poles and fallen trees. Some of these outages are going to extend several days,” Almaraz said. “So please begin making plans now. Put your emergency plan into effect and make plans to stay cool somewhere.”
CPS Energy reported 653 active outages and about 250 downed-wire calls.
The prolonged outages come as hot weather continues through the weekend. Overnight lows will only fall into the upper 70s before temperatures climb to around 98 degrees Sunday, with heat index values as high as 101.
At Taqueria Chapala Jalisco off McCullough Avenue north of downtown, dozens of people without power gathered Saturday to cool off and charge their phones and other devices. A hostess said the restaurant had been packed throughout the day with people looking for relief from homes without electricity.
Cindy Rodriguez-Martinez, a North Side resident, said she was still shaken by Friday night’s storm. The power went out at her theater just before the second act of her sold-out play, “Aye, No!,” was about to begin. The drive home was even more unsettling.
“Then on the way home that was the scariest thing ever, because I was traveling in all black,” Rodriguez-Martinez said. “As I’m driving, I'm praying for everything.”
She said she encountered downed power lines, flooded streets and car crashes along the way. Her daughter, Nicki Martinez, had planned to move into a new home Saturday night with help from friends after their shifts. With her mother still without electricity, the family now planned to leave behind a mattress so Rodriguez-Martinez and her grandson could stay with Martinez in air conditioning.
Other families were trying to salvage food before it spoiled. Yesenia Cortez, who was cooling off at the restaurant with her three young children, said she had already thrown out the contents of her refrigerator. She was also worried about what another prolonged outage could mean Monday.
“If they don't have school, then I don't really know what I'm gonna do for work because I don’t have anybody to be watching them,” Cortez said.
Nearby, Cleo Booker carried a small bag of ice back to his apartment, hoping to save meat from his refrigerator. Booker said he has lived in San Antonio since 2010 and had experienced brief outages before, but never anything approaching several days.
“It’s never happened,” Booker said. “When we have heavy rain through here or heavy wind, light might go off, but it'll be right back on in about an hour or so.”
In a preliminary storm report, the National Weather Service said widespread tree damage occurred in a corridor stretching from northeast Bexar County through central San Antonio into southwest Bexar County. Emergency managers also reported scattered damage to fences, power lines, power poles and some roofs.
On the West Side, traffic lights were ripped from their supports, and residents worked Saturday morning to remove fallen trees from their homes. Damage was also reported north of downtown. San Antonio College canceled Saturday classes following the storm.
See Bexar County road closures: BexarFlood.org
The Weather Service said the damage was consistent with straight-line winds. Measured wind speeds reached 50 to 65 mph, with pockets of winds around 75 mph estimated from radar and the resulting damage. A peak gust of 77 mph was recorded at San Antonio International Airport.
People whose medical equipment is affected by an outage should call 911 in an emergency or 311 for nonemergency help. Residents can also submit nonemergency requests through the city’s online 311 portal or the 311SA mobile app.
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said libraries and park centers were operating as cooling centers during their normal Saturday hours. Pets are allowed.
Some library branches remained closed because they were also without power, including Bazan, Las Palmas and San Pedro.
The city has also opened several resilience hubs, which provide emergency resources such as access to power, device charging, Wi-Fi and other basic needs. Residents without power who need refrigeration for medication can use a resilience hub or call the CPS Energy Customer Response Unit at 210-353-2783 for assistance.
Six resilience hubs will remain open overnight through 4 p.m. Sunday. Residents planning to stay overnight are asked to bring clothes, supplies and medication. Kennels will be available for pets in separate areas.
The Normoyle Senior Center, Gilbert Garza Community Center, Miller’s Pond Community Center and Copernicus Community Center were open Saturday afternoon. The Southside Lions Senior Center and Northeast Senior Center opened at 4 p.m. Saturday.
VIA Metropolitan Transit is providing free transportation to cooling centers and overnight resilience hubs. Anyone who needs transportation assistance can call 311 or 210-207-6000.
City crews are clearing downed trees and debris from streets and other public rights-of-way so emergency vehicles and utility crews can reach affected neighborhoods.
Storm debris can be taken to the city’s Brush Collection Center at 1800 Wurzbach Parkway. The center will be open Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with disposal fees waived this weekend for storm-related brush.
The city is also asking people to report storm damage to homes, businesses and agricultural property through the state’s iSTAT damage survey. Officials said the reports help assess the extent of the damage but do not replace an insurance claim or guarantee disaster assistance.
CPS Energy is urging residents to take precautions during prolonged outages, including operating generators outdoors and away from doors and windows, treating all downed power lines as live, and keeping refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
As the outages stretched into Saturday evening, some families were finding ways to make use of food before it spoiled. Annalisa Rodriguez said she was gathering with about 15 relatives for a cookout after several family members lost power.
“The meat I have in a cooler that I’m taking to my family,” Rodriguez said. “We have no choice because a lot of it thawed out.”
She said she had already thrown out dairy products and expected to lose more food if power was not restored soon.
Joey Palacios, Jerry Clayton, Yvette Benavides and Dan Katz of Texas Public Radio, and Eleanor Fitzgerald of the San Antonio Report, contributed to this report.
