Breckenridge Texan

UPDATE: Several residents in the Breckenridge area have been experiencing power outages, and Oncor Electric says they have personnel currently working to restore power as fast as possible.

“Currently, we have about 74 folks in the Breckenridge area that are currently out (of power) at this time,” said Gordon Drake, area manager for Oncor. “We have folks out in Graham, Brownwood, Eastland, Mineral Wells and Stephenville, as well, so that area that has about 5,000 customers out at this time; it was more, earlier. The road conditions are affecting our restoration times, as well.”

Drake said the power outages have been caused by the lightning in the “thunder sleet” storms that moved through the area earlier today.

“We really haven’t had a lot of outages due to icing, as of yet, but there is a lot of sleet out there that’s beginning to change over to rain, so I’m not going to rule out that we could have some problems later today or tonight,” he said. “But, for the most part, the outages that are occurring are due to the lightning and storms that went through earlier. We are currently working to restore power to everyone as soon as possible.”

Cancellations and closings

Early this morning, Breckenridge Independent School District announced that local schools would be closed today due to the icy weather outside, and several other businesses and events have been canceled, as well.

• First Baptist Church has canceled all of its Wednesday night activities.
• Early Voting is canceled for today.
• The Breckenridge Library is closed.
• The Breckenridge Medical Center will close at noon today.
• The suicide-prevention/awareness event sponsored by Open Door, scheduled for tonight at the National Theatre, has been canceled and will be rescheduled.
• The Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce is closed today.
• Bethany Baptist Church evening services.
• The mandatory Talent Show practice for today has been canceled. They will be rescheduling both the practice and the actual Talent Show for a later date.

Weather Forecast

According to the National Weather Service, the freezing precipitation could continue throughout the day, and the high is expected to be around 30 degrees, with some sources predicting a high of about 33.

Thursday’s forecast shows a chance of freezing rain before 9 a.m., turning to rain as the temperatures warm up. Thursday’s high temperature is expected to be about 38 degrees.

The rain and/or thunderstorm chances continue throughout the week, but the high temperatures are expected to warm up to 54 degrees by Friday.

Cutline, top photo: Area highways are icy and slushy, but some vehicles are getting around out there. If you can, stay home today. If you have to get out, drive slowly and safely. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)