The weather may have adverse effects upon some of Texas's agriculture industries, especially cotton and vegetable farming and some fruit orchards. It will also negatively impact driving and living conditions, particularly in northern Texas. Dallas reported severe impacts on driving conditions during the morning drive hours on Dec. 6th. Conditions are expected to worsen over the weekend.
Governor Perry had these words of warning for his fellow Texans:
"As this winter storm makes its way across the state, I urge all those in the affected communities to closely monitor the storm and prepare for dangerous weather conditions. We will continue to take the necessary actions to make state resources available to assist affected areas."
Among those state resources, the following are already on alert and prepared to conduct emergency operations in order to bolster county and municipal emergency responses:
• 54 Texas Military Forces personnel and 20 supporting vehicles pre-positioned in Wichita Falls and Sherman to assist with rescuing stranded motorists.
• Texas Department of Transportation officials to treat roadways in affected areas. Regional offices are monitoring the situation and remain ready to provide additional assistance as necessary.
• The Public Utility Commission to monitor power outages due to ice and coordinate any necessary response with utility companies.
In preparation for potential blizzard conditions and damage to infrastructure systems (such as water and sewer line freezes), Governor Rick Perry issued the following proclamation:
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME:
I, RICK PERRY, Governor of the State of Texas, do hereby certify that a significant winter storm poses a threat of imminent disaster in the following counties: Andrews, Archer, Armstrong, Bailey, Baylor, Bell, Blanco, Borden, Bosque, Bowie, Briscoe, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Carson, Castro, Childress, Clay, Cochran, Coke, Coleman, Collin, Collingsworth, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Cottle, Crockett, Crosby, Dallam, Dallas, Dawson, Deaf Smith, Delta, Denton, Dickens, Donley, Eastland, Ector, Ellis, Erath, Falls, Fannin, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Franklin, Gaines, Garza, Gillespie, Glasscock, Grayson, Gray, Hale, Hall, Hamilton, Hansford, Hardeman, Hartley, Haskell, Hemphill, Henderson, Hill, Hockley, Hood, Hopkins, Howard, Hunt, Hutchinson, Irion, Jack, Johnson, Jones, Kaufman, Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Knox, Lamar, Lamb, Lampasas, Limestone, Lipscomb, Llano, Lubbock, Lynn, Martin, Mason, McCulloch, McLennan, Menard, Midland, Mills, Mitchell, Montague, Moore, Motley, Navarro, Nolan, Ochiltree, Oldham, Palo Pinto, Parker, Parmer, Potter, Rains, Randall, Reagan, Red River, Roberts, Rockwall, Runnels, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Sherman, Somervell, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Swisher, Tarrant, Taylor, Terry, Throckmorton, Titus, Tom Green, Travis, Upton, Van Zandt, Wheeler, Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson, Winkler, Wise, Wood, Yoakum, and Young.
THEREFORE, in accordance with the authority vested in me by Section 418.014 of the Texas Government Code, I do hereby declare a state of disaster in the counties listed above based on the existence of such threat, and direct that all necessary measures, both public and private as authorized under Section 418.017 of the code, be implemented to meet that threat.
As provided in Section 418.016, all rules and regulations that may inhibit or prevent prompt response to this threat are suspended for the duration of the incident.
In accordance with the statutory requirements, copies of this proclamation shall be filed with the applicable authorities.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto signed my name and have officially caused the Seal of State to be affixed at my office in the City of Austin, Texas, this the 5th day of December, 2013.
RICK PERRY
Governor of Texas
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