The town of Frisco, north of Dallas, has probably never lived up to its name as well as it did on Monday as Texas faced an exceptional cold snap.
“Right now it’s -13 degrees. With the wind factor, we are told about -22, -23 degrees, “Alain Dutil, a Quebecer who has been living in Frisco since 2012, told TVA Nouvelles.
This city, like the rest of the state, is facing an unprecedented cold spell in recent decades. “We have never had temperatures as cold as that, indeed. We have already seen fairly cold temperatures, but approaching -13, we have never seen that, ”said Mr. Dutil.
According to meteorological services, mercury has plunged below -14 ° C in Dallas, breaking the record of -9 ° C set over a century ago, in 1909.
In addition to the cold, Mother Nature brought a good snowfall that temporarily turned Texas into a northern state.
“The biggest problem is the cold. […] The way houses are built in Texas is not isolated like in Quebec. The cold gets inside a lot. Electricity companies cut off electricity every hour, ”Dutil said, however.
This load shedding has also meant that more than 4 million people have been deprived of electricity at times.