Houston huddles down for another day of cold weather

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Evan Koach throws a snowball at Trent Nolen at Riverwood Middle School, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, in Kingwood. The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for southeast Texas until midnight Wednesday.

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Evan Koach throws a snowball at Trent Nolen at Riverwood Middle School, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, in Kingwood. The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for southeast Texas until midnight

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Photo: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle

as a winter storm brought freezing rain and ice throughout the greater Houston area, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for southeast Texas until midnight Wednesday.

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as a winter storm brought freezing rain and ice throughout the greater Houston area, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for southeast Texas until midnight

… more
Photo: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle

tasts ice as he plays in front of his house after a winter storm brought freezing rain and ice throughout the greater Houston area, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for southeast Texas until midnight Wednesday.

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tasts ice as he plays in front of his house after a winter storm brought freezing rain and ice throughout the greater Houston area, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm

… more
Photo: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle

William Johnson, 14, rides his bike as sleet rains down after a winter storm brought freezing rain and ice throughout the greater Houston area, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for southeast Texas until midnight Wednesday.

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William Johnson, 14, rides his bike as sleet rains down after a winter storm brought freezing rain and ice throughout the greater Houston area, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. The National Weather Service issued a

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Photo: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle

A rare winter storm brought the Houston region to a virtual standstill Tuesday, bringing sub-freezing temperatures that left one person dead and icy roads that caused hundreds of accidents even as most of area schools, governments and businesses closed their doors for the day.

Faced with continuing frigid temperatures through at least midday Wednesday, dozens of school districts, colleges and agencies announced another round of closures as officials called for Houstonians to give the weather – and the roads – one more day to warm up.

“It makes no sense to put your employees in harm’s way unless its absolutely necessary that they be at work,” Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said late Tuesday.

Mayor Sylvester Turner urged residents to stay off the roads until the ice begins to thaw.

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School closings

Colleges and universities

The University of Houston and its Downtown, Katy and Sugar Land campuses

Texas Southern University

The University of St. Thomas (residential move-in at all the residence halls will happen from noon to 7 p.m.)

Prairie View A M University

Houston Community College

Houston Baptist University, though online classes and evening athletic events will be held as scheduled

Lone Star College

South Texas College of Law Houston

Public schools

Aldine ISD

Alief ISD

Alvin ISD

Anahuac ISD

Angleton ISD

Barbers Hill ISD

Brazosport ISD

Channelview ISD

Clear Creek ISD

Cleveland ISD

Columbia-Brazoria ISD

Conroe ISD

Crosby ISD

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

Damon ISD

Deer Park ISD

Dickinson ISD

Fort Bend ISD

Friendswood ISD

Galena Park ISD

Galveston ISD

Goose Creek CISD

Hempstead ISD

Hitchcock ISD

Houston ISD

Huffman ISD

Humble ISD

Katy ISD

KIPP: Houston Public Schools

Klein ISD

La Porte ISD

Lamar CISD

Magnolia ISD

Montgomery ISD

Navasota ISD

New Caney ISD

Odyssey Academy (all campuses)

Pasadena ISD

Pearland ISD

Royal ISD

Santa Fe ISD

Sealy ISD

Sheldon ISD

Splendora ISD

Spring ISD

Spring Branch ISD

Stafford MSD

Texas City ISD

Tomball ISD

Waller ISD

Willis ISD

YES Prep Public Schools

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“If you don’t have to be on the road, please don’t be on the roads,” Turner said. “For the next 24 hours it’s going to be somewhat treacherous out there.”

The winter storm sent an icy mix across much of South, Central and East Texas, closing schools from Galveston to Austin, San Antonio, Waco and Tyler along with most of the state’s major universities.

AT HOME: With schools and day care centers closed, parents find other options for their kids

The storm moved through the Houston region during the day Tuesday, sending temperatures into the 20s as sleet, snow and freezing rain blanketed the area with a thin but dangerous layer of ice. Temperatures early Wednesday were expected to plummet again into the 20s – levels not seen in January since 1996.

The record low for Houston on Jan. 17 came in 1930, when temperatures dropped to 15 degrees.

Across the region, nearly 100,000 CenterPoint customers lost power, but almost all had been restored by Tuesday evening.

But sunshine is in the forecast. The National Weather Service in Houston predicted Wednesday would be sunny with a high near 40, and warming temperatures the rest of the week could push Sunday to near 70, albeit with rain.

Warming centers open

Dozens of schools districts – including Houston, Cypress-Fairbanks, Katy, Humble and Pasadena – closed for a second day on Wednesday, adding to the missed days this school year caused by severe weather. Local universities – including the University of Houston and Texas Southern University – also remained closed Wednesday.

The Houston Fire Department remained busy, responding to more than 450 calls in 17 hours, Chief Samuel Pena said. Officials warned residents to take extra care with space heaters and to avoid using extension cords.

The brutal cold sent at least two people to the hospital with hypothermia, and one man, who was believed to have been homeless, was found dead on the city’s south side near in the 6700 block of Telephone Road near Bellfort.

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WHAT TO DO? No ice scraper? No problem.

About 400 people arrived at two warming centers set up by the American Red Cross at South Main Baptist Church and Pleasant Missionary Grove Baptist Church. The Houston Police Department also spent part of Tuesday offering to give free rides to Houstonians living in encampments near Minute Maid Park – an effort that Chief Art Acevedo said ended with many “having a change of heart and agreeing to be transported.”

Still, officials said many remained in harm’s way Tuesday night.

“We still have a number of people who are on our streets, and we want to get them off the streets and into a warmer environment,” Turner said.

Stay home today

Nearly 400 vehicle accidents were reported on Harris County roadways, including more than two dozen major accidents, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.

Houston alone had more than 300 accidents throughout the day, prompting Acevedo to join other Texas officials in pleading for drivers to stay off of the roads.

“Driving conditions are extremely treacherous around the entire region right now,” he wrote on Twitter about 2 p.m., citing a 1,000-foot stretch of where the chief said he saw a half-dozen accidents.

HEADING OUT: Tips for driving on icy roads from people who know

Texas Department of Transportation officials said they had dozens of crews working around the clock in the Houston area to de-ice roadways, working first to reopen freeways closed by the icy conditions. At least 100 roadways were impacted by icy conditions, with 20 of them impassable, TxDOT officials said.

Thoroughfares like Texas 225 and the Fred Hartman Bridge over the Houston Ship Channel were particularly icy, TxDOT officials said.

In Fort Bend County, authorities closed portions of major highways Tuesday, including the Grand Parkway, Southwest Freeway and Westpark Tollway.

“All things considered, things have been going rather well in Fort Bend County,” Fort Bend County Judge Bob Hebert said. “We responded to it right – by we, I mean everybody.”

Fort Bend County offices and courts will be closed again on Wednesday, and all non-essential employees were told to remain home.

Hospitals in the Texas Medical Center remained operational, though some also sent home non-essential employees. Some elective procedures and clinic appoints were canceled.

Is winter over?

Good news appears to be ahead. Nearly five months after Hurricane Harvey and one month after the Bayou City residents awoke to their first snowfall in years, this week’s chilly temperatures are expected to the last bit of winter in Houston this season, said Eric Berger, a Houston meteorologist who writes for the popular Space City Weather blog.

“The second half of this month does appear likely to be noticeably warmer than our cold start to 2018,” Berger wrote recently. “While there are always caveats about long-range forecasts, it seems that the pattern will change, with more of the colder air getting shunted off to the east before diving south all of the way to the Gulf Coast.”

Shelby Webb, Rebecca Elliott, Meagan Flynn, Jacob Carpenter, Todd Ackerman, Brooke Lewis and Emily Foxhall contributed.

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DHS chief takes heat over Trump furor

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen NielsenKirstjen Michele NielsenDHS chief takes heat over Trump furor Overnight Cybersecurity: Bipartisan bill aims to deter election interference | Russian hackers target Senate | House Intel panel subpoenas Bannon | DHS giving ‘active defense’ cyber tools to private sector Hoyer blasts Trump for ‘racist rhetoric’ MORE faced heated questions from Democratic lawmakers Tuesday over her recollections of a White House meeting in which President TrumpDonald John TrumpDems flip Wisconsin state Senate seat Sessions: ‘We should be like Canada’ in how we take in immigrants GOP rep: ‘Sheet metal and garbage’ everywhere in Haiti MORE questioned why the United States would take additional immigrants from “shithole countries.”

The remarks have set off a days-long firestorm, raising the odds of a government shutdown and emboldening Democrats to demand that a fix protecting certain immigrants brought to the United States as children be included as part of a deal.

Nielsen insisted throughout the more than four-hour hearing that she had not heard Trump use the word “shithole,” earning her withering criticism from some Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“I don’t remember the specific words [Trump used],” Nielsen said in response to questions from Sen. Dick DurbinRichard (Dick) Joseph DurbinMcCarthy: ‘No deadline on DACA’ Ex-Sheriff David Clarke: Trump only one who ‘cares about black American citizens’ DHS chief takes heat over Trump furor MORE (D-Ill.), the first senator to publicly accuse Trump of using the phrase to describe Haiti and other countries.

“What I was struck with, frankly, as I’m sure you were as well, was the general profanity that was used in the room by almost everyone,” she said.

While Durbin was relatively restrained in his questioning of Nielsen, two other Democrats on the committee, both of whom are seen as possible presidential candidates in 2020, were much tougher during the televised hearing.

Sen. Cory BookerCory Anthony BookerDHS chief takes heat over Trump furor Booker to Nielsen: ‘Your silence and your amnesia is complicity’ Homeland Security secretary grilled over Trump comments MORE (D-N.J.) said he was “seething with anger” and had “tears of rage” when Durbin told him about Trump’s remarks. The New Jersey Democrat pounded his desk and his voice cracked with emotion as he accused Nielsen of providing cover for what he described as racist remarks coming out of the White House.

“Your silence and your amnesia is complicity,” Booker thundered. “I hurt when Dick Durbin called me. I had tears of rage when I heard about his experience in that meeting and for you not to feel that hurt and that pain and to dismiss the questions of my colleagues … that’s unacceptable to me. You can’t remember the words of your commander in chief? I find that unacceptable.”

Sen. Kamala HarrisKamala Devi HarrisDHS chief takes heat over Trump furor NSA spying program overcomes key Senate hurdle Democrats will need to explain if they shut government down over illegal immigration MORE (D-Calif.) criticized Nielsen after the secretary said she had previously heard Trump talk of the need to bring in more immigrants from Norway as opposed to people from poorer countries.

“I heard [Trump] repeating what he had learned in a meeting before,” Nielsen said. “[Norway is] industrious and a hard-working country and they don’t have much crime there, they don’t have much debt. I think in general I heard him giving compliments to Norway.”

Harris replied: “That causes me concern about your ability to understand the scope of your responsibilities and the impact of your words — much less the policies that you promulgate in that very important department.”

Nielsen fired back, saying she did not intend to make a comparison between the countries and arguing that her agency has prioritized cracking down on racially charged violence in the U.S.

Facing the Senate panel days after the controversy broke, Nielsen faced a difficult political challenge while testifying under oath.

It was clear she was doing what she could to avoid angering Trump, who is known to watch and grade toughly the high-profile television appearances of Cabinet members and presidential aides. She also appeared to take pains not to do anything that would jeopardize a deal on immigration and spending four days before a possible government shutdown — all while avoiding saying anything untruthful.

Durbin has said Trump used the term “shithole,” and Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamDHS chief takes heat over Trump furor Overnight Defense: GOP chair blames Dems for defense budget holdup | FDA, Pentagon to speed approval of battlefield drugs | Mattis calls North Korea situation ‘sobering’ Bipartisan group to introduce DACA bill in House MORE (R-S.C.) has essentially backed up Durbin’s account that the president disparaged Haiti, El Salvador and some African nations. But two other Republicans who attended the meeting, Sens. Tom CottonTom CottonMcCarthy: ‘No deadline on DACA’ DHS chief takes heat over Trump furor Lawmakers see shutdown’s odds rising MORE (Ark.) and David Perdue (Ga.), have offered different stories, initially saying they did not recall Trump using those words before saying Trump definitively did not say “shithole.”

Nielsen on Tuesday described the Oval Office meeting about immigration as heated and said many people in the room had used coarse language.

Graham later bemoaned “the two Trumps” during his own questioning of Nielsen.

The first Trump, he said, had spoken a week ago with “compassion” and “love” about the need to find a comprehensive bipartisan fix for those covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which Trump is winding down.

The other Trump showed up at the closed-door meeting a couple days later — after initially signaling he thought a deal outlined by Graham and Durbin sounded positive. In between, Republican senators including Cotton spoke with the president.

“We had a president that I was proud to golf with, to call my friend. … I don’t know where that guy went,” Graham said. “I want him back.”

The controversy over Trump’s remarks has left Democrats feeling that they are in a stronger negotiating position ahead of the deadline to reach a deal on funding the government — in part because of the bickering among Republicans.

The fight has also renewed charges of racism against Trump.

“In light of the president’s comments, I’m forced to question whether the decision to terminate protected status for Haitian nationals was in fact racially motivated,” said Sen. Dianne FeinsteinDianne Emiel FeinsteinDHS chief takes heat over Trump furor NSA spying program overcomes key Senate hurdle Democrats will need to explain if they shut government down over illegal immigration MORE (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the panel. “I hope not.”

Feinstein was referring to a separate decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians who came to the United States after a 2010 earthquake in their country.

Cotton and Republicans, including Trump, believe Democrats pushed for too much in the deal when they sought protections not only for the 700,000 or so immigrants protected by DACA, but for thousands covered by the TPS program and parents of DACA recipients.

The White House accused Democrats of simply trying to prevent Trump from getting a deal.

“I think they’re using [Trump’s remarks] as an excuse not to help this president get something accomplished, which I think is a sad day for our country,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters outside the West Wing.

Nielsen defended the administration’s moves to end TPS for Haiti and El Salvador, saying the countries have adequately recovered from natural disasters that occurred there, even if the countries are not prospering otherwise.

She also defended the spirit of Trump’s remarks at last week’s Oval Office meeting, saying he was merely stating that high-skilled workers should get priority over immigrants seeking asylum from dysfunctional governments or extreme poverty.

“What I understood him to be saying is let’s … make sure that those we bring here can contribute to our society,” she said.

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