Texas shelters prepare for twin emergencies: arctic cold and an increase in migrants

The Dallas skyline during winter weather on Feb. 3. The state's largest cities are expanding shelter space and other measures ahead of freezing temperatures expected to hit Texas starting Thursday. (Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune)

HOUSTON — With freezing temperatures expected across much of the state Thursday and Friday, Texas cities are turning their attention to their unhoused communities — the people most at risk from the single-digit temperatures.

The impending freeze is not expected to bring conditions as severe as the 2021 winter storm, and the state power grid’s governing body said this week it expects the grid to stay online. But with temperatures in many parts of the state plummeting into single digits, unsheltered people will be especially vulnerable.