Anyone who has been paying attention to the news has heard about what the citizens of Texas are experiencing right now. Record cold and snow, rolling power outages, and many people without heat.
Joel Volkert, a Manitowoc native, is currently living in Austin Texas and shared his experience with us.
He said that his home lost power at around 2:00 Monday morning (February 15th), while the thermometers began reading in the teens, and the wind chill was below zero. At the same time, six inches of snow began accumulating, which Volkert called “life-altering” for Texans.
Volkert said he thought it looked beautiful, so he went for a walk, and cheerfully spoke with his neighbors.
Volkert’s home remained without power for the next two days, with the temperature in his home getting as low as 50 degrees, making blankets a requirement.
As is the case here in Wisconsin, many drivers attempted to make it up hills that
were quite icy and were having trouble. Joel toggled his “Wisconsin nice” background and went outside to help as many as he could, however many cars became stranded.
Joel finally regained power on Wednesday, but shortly after lost access to water. He says many people are still without power or water.
Joel ended his e-mail saying “As someone who still laughs when Texans say 45 is cold, I can truly say I’ve never been this cold for this long in my life. This storm was no joke and my heart goes out to all those still struggling.”
