The chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission says the MLK March on Monday will proceed as planned as an Arctic cold front makes for bitter cold march conditions.
The front is now expected to arrive late Saturday or early Sunday.
It will be around 30 degrees and wind chills will be around 20 degrees when the parade kicks off at 10 a.m. on Monday at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy and ends at Pittman-Sullivan Park. A celebration at the park includes a main stage with multicultural performances, a health and wellness area, a youth area, and food and merchandise vendors.
"Although the weather forecast predicts one of the coldest days in our city, we are determined to press on, just as King and other heroes and sheroes did," said Dwayne Robinson, chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission.
Participants taking part in Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day March on San Antonio's East Side will need to dress in layers to protect themselves from low wind chills.
Conditions will be even worse for the Hill Country and Northern Austin Metro area, where the National Weather Service now predicts a possibility of light accumulation of ice Sunday night into Monday Morning and wind chills below zero or in the single digits.
The weather service reports temperatures will remain below freezing for a solid three days across the Hill Country after its arrival.
Forecasters said an accumulation of a few-hundredths of an inch is enough to make for slick driving conditions. San Antonio's chances of seeing any frozen precipitation during the same period were very slight as of Friday.
Forecasters said if a wind chill warning is issued, residents will need to limit time outside and dress in layers and cover exposed skin to prevent frostbite and hypothermia, which could occur in a matter of minutes. If a wind chill watch is issued, there is a strong chance of cold air and strong winds.
San Antonio's city-owned utilities, CPS Energy and SAWS say they are prepared for the cold blast that arrives Sunday.
President of CPS Energy, Rudy Garza, says the utilities and government leaders have learned a lot since the winter blitz of February 2021 that knocked out power and water for most.
"We're more prepared than we were three years ago for this type of scenario and the real biggest difference is last time, remember, it was under freezing for days. It was tons of precipitation," he said.
Unlike what occurred in February 2021, the National Weather Service reports this storm system arriving Sunday will be dry and have lower wind gusts. Another front moving in as soon as Friday night will pack winds up to 45 miles per hour, but also be dry.
ERCOT has issued a Weather Watch from January 15–17 due to forecasted extreme cold weather across the ERCOT region, higher electrical demand and the potential for lower reserves. Grid conditions are expected to be normal and can be monitored on http://ercot.com.
The City of San Antonio is working with nonprofit partners to prepare additional temporary overnight refuge from the cold for the unsheltered population.
In addition to expanded capacity at Haven for Hope and the Salvation Army, temporary shelter partners include Communities Under the Bridge, Corazon San Antonio, and Sold Out Believers Church.
San Antonio's Department of Human Services began providing outreach this week to known homeless encampments. Outreach partners include SAMMinistries, Corazon San Antonio, Catholic Charities, Christian Assistance Ministries, and Haven for Hope.
DHS street outreach will operate extended hours on Sunday evening from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Monday and Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Homeless Connections Hotline (210-207-1799) will also be available during those extended hours to provide up-to-date shelter information.
Daytime Warming Centers
The City of San Antonio will open 14 facilities on the MLK Holiday Monday, January 15 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The latest information on the locations is available at saoemprepare.com.
The locations are:
- Central Library (600 Soledad St. San Antonio, TX 78205)
- Schaefer Library (6322 US Hwy 87E, San Antonio, TX 78222)
- Mission Library (3134 Roosevelt Ave, San Antonio, TX 78214)
- Cortez Library (2803 Hunter Blvd, San Antonio, TX 78224)
- Bazan Library (2200 W Commerce St, San Antonio, TX 78207)
- Guerra Library (7978 W Military Dr, San Antonio, TX 78227)
- Maverick Library (8700 Mystic Park, San Antonio, TX 78254)
- Igo Library (13330 Kyle Seale Pkwy, San Antonio, TX 78249)
- Encino Library (2515 E Evans Road, San Antonio, TX 78259)
- Thousand Oaks Library (4618 Thousand Oaks, San Antonio, TX 78233)
- Tobin Community Center (1900 W Martin St, San Antonio, TX 78207)
- Harlandale Community Center (7227 Briar Pl, San Antonio, TX 78221)
- Cuellar Community Center (5626 San Fernando St., San Antonio, TX 78237)
- Hamilton Community Center (10700 Nacogdoches Rd, San Antonio, TX 78217)
VIA passengers may travel fare-free to or from these locations. Passengers using VIA bus service or VIA Link should alert the bus operator when boarding; VIAtrans passengers should alert the reservation agent when booking a VIAtrans trip.
Overnight Resiliency Centers
The city will operate six resilience hubs beginning Sunday night at 9 p.m. through Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. Visitors will have access to basic needs and supplies, shelter from the severe cold, access to power and device charging and free wi-fi. Anyone coming to these locations should bring clothes, supplies and medicine.
Those six locations are:
- Normoyle Senior Center (700 Culberson Avenue, San Antonio, TX 78225)
- Northeast Senior Center (4135 Thousand Oaks Drive, San Antonio, TX 78217)
- Southside Lions Senior Center (3303 Pecan Valley Drive, San Antonio, TX 78210)
- Garza Community Center (1450 Mira Vista, San Antonio, TX 78228)
- Copernicus Community Center (5003 Lord Rd, San Antonio, TX 78220)
- Miller’s Pond Community Center (6175 Old Pearsall Rd, San Antonio, TX 78242)
Kennels will be available in a separate area of these locations for pets.
County Overnight Warming Centers
Bexar County will operate five overnight warming centers beginning Sunday night at 9 p.m. through Wednesday morning at 8 a.m.
Those locations are:
- Lighthouse Church Temple (8201 Old Pearsall Road, San Antonio, TX 78252)
- Outer West Community Church (12280 Alamo Ranch Pkwy, San Antonio, TX 78253)
- St. Padre Pio Catholic Church (3843 Bulverde Pkwy, San Antonio, TX 78259)
- Christ the King Lutheran Church (1129 Pat booker Road, Universal City, TX 78148)
- Elmendorf Community Library (203 Bexar Ave, Elmendorf, TX 78112)
For any other updates, you can follow the County’s website at https://www.bexar.org/.
Residents will need to bring pets inside during the extended cold blast.
Plumbing will also need protection once the temperatures dip below freezing for hours at a time.
Plumbing experts say exposed outdoor pipes should be covered by some sort of insulation found at most home or garden centers. Indoor faucets, especially those near exterior walls, should be allowed to drip. Cabinets surrounding sinks should be opened to allow warm indoor air to circulate around them.
Plants will also need protection. David Rodriguez, a master gardener with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service Office in San Antonio, said in-ground and container plants that cannot be brought inside should be watered one to three days before the bitter cold arrives.
Rodriguez said a good dousing will help keep root temperatures from dipping too low below freezing where the real damage occurs. He said also make sure in-ground plants in containers are well-mulched at their bases.
Rodriguez said if container plants are too large to move indoors, try at least to shelter them around a corner or near a fence out of the harsh northerly winds on the way. Cover them too. Burlap is one suggested option.
And as for those perennial flowers and plants green thumbs are afraid of losing, he said there may be hope for them even if they are left outdoors.
"A lot of these hearty perennials, like Texas Superstar perennials, hey that's okay if they freeze back. Most of those plants are hardy to the crown or the roots," Rodriguez said.
He just said make sure those too are well-watered and mulched. Rodriguez said when spring arrives, they will likely sprout from the crown to live another spring.
Any kind of tropical plant in a container outdoors must be brought indoors to survive.
