Extreme Cold and Record Snowfall to Test Texas Power Grid

From Bloomberg.

A cold blast gripping the US South threatens to bring record-breaking snowfall to New Orleans and Houston and a deep freeze that endangers oil and natural gas output and electrical grids.

Snow and sleet began falling Monday night in Houston, spreading throughout most of southeast Texas by late evening. As much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) may fall by Tuesday, which would be a record for January, the National Weather Service said. New Orleans may get 7 inches, an all-time high for the region, as may Louisiana’s capital Baton Rouge.

Houston airports, including George Bush Intercontinental, William P. Hobby and Ellington, were closed shortly after midnight. Most Tuesday flights at Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans were canceled. Many highways and roads across Louisiana became impassible overnight and were closed, including portions of Interstate 10.

Extreme cold warnings stretch from North Dakota to West Texas.

“It’s a significant storm for so far south,” said Tony Fracasso, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center. “It looks like almost the entirety of Texas has some chance of wintry precipitation.”

Frigid temperatures will ride in behind the snow, potentially shaking oil and natural gas production in the short term, while sending electricity demand soaring. As the freeze gripped West Texas Monday morning, temperatures in Odessa — the middle of the oil-rich Permian basin — had only reached 19F (-7.2C) and are set to drop to 15F overnight. Cold can disrupt oil and gas output by causing water in wells and pipelines to freeze.