Over eight historic days (February 11-19) in Texas, San Antonio received 3 to 5 inches of snow, and temperatures dipped into the single digits. Those in the northeast might not find those numbers so earth-shattering, but the climate was crippling for a region that experiences severe winter weather only once in a generation.

The rare cold snap was exacerbated when the power grid faltered. Electricity and water went on and off each day and night from February 15 to 19, freezing in place — figuratively and quite literally — the Sisters and virtually everyone else in the region. Schools and most workplaces were closed for five straight days, grocery store shelves were bare, and potable water was nowhere to be found.

Sister Jo Goolish, a native Pennsylvanian who has lived and ministered in San Antonio since 1972, remembers such conditions there only once before. “In 1985, we had 13.5 inches of snow,” she says. “We wore bread bags on our feet to go to church and the store.”

She and Sister Yolanda Escamilla weathered the storm, so to speak, by going back to basics, heating water for coffee and making eggs and toast by candlelight. They managed, but some of their ferns, palms and plants were lost for good.  

“All in all, having experienced a feeling of powerlessness in so many different ways was very good for us,” Sister Jo reflects. “Powerlessness is a way of life for many people around the world. They have no control of the situations in their lives. We were reminded of what that’s like.”

a little prayer
& perserverance

About 220 miles away in San Angelo, Sisters Adelina Garcia and Hilda Marotta got by with perseverance and a little help from their friends.

Temperatures there began to plummet on February 13, and a light snow began to fall. By the next day, when it snowed from morning until night, conditions had significantly deteriorated. “The snow was becoming a concern because we had 10 inches in our yard, and the roads were pretty much a sheet of ice,” Sister Hilda recalls.

On February 15, the Sisters awoke to find they had no power — which meant no lights and no heat. The temperature was 8 degrees and falling. “Fortunately, we have a small fireplace, so we made a fire to keep warm with the hopes that power would be restored shortly,” Sister Adelina says. “That did not happen.”

While their neighborhood had no power, it did have water. Conversely, others in the surrounding area had power, but no water. The diocesan Pastoral Center, where Sisters Hilda and Adelina have their offices with the Diocese of San Angelo, remained closed.

“We bundled up, sat near the fireplace and tried to do what we could from home,” Sister Hilda says. “We continued to hope and pray that power would be restored that day, but it was not to be.”

A friend who had power and water invited the Sisters over for supper and to stay the night until their electricity was restored. They returned home the following morning to a boil-water alert from the city of San Angelo, which experienced numerous water main breaks. They had no power to boil water on their electric stove, but fortunately had some bottled water on hand.

“Our days were spent bundled up by the fireplace in our home and the nights at the home of our friend,” Sister Adelina recalls. “It was a relief later Thursday afternoon when we heard the ‘click’ of the heating system, and warm air began to flow throughout the house.”

As members of the greater community, the Sisters did what they could, checking up on those who stayed in the area throughout the ordeal because they had no other place to go. “We also kept up with people who came to the Franciscan Resource Center and made sure they were okay,” Sister Adelina says. “They, too, checked in on us to make sure we were fine. Friends and neighbors reaching out to one another …”

“We were very blessed, as we had food, and our home did not suffer any major damage,” Sister Hilda says. “Despite the many inconveniences we experienced, the entire situation gave us a glimpse of what many people deal with on a daily basis throughout the world.” 

by the numbers

San Angelo hit -1 degrees on February 16, shattering the previous record of 16 degrees in 1901 and 2007.

For the season, San Angelo has received 15.6 inches of snow, breaking the prior record of 13.5 in 1972-73.

San Antonio’s temperature bottomed out at 9 degrees on February 15, part of more than 107 straight hours of freezing temps during the storm.

Tyler, Texas — located about 300 miles from San Antonio and San Angelo — hit a low temperature of -6 degrees on February 16, breaking a record previously set in 1883.

Del Rio, Texas — near the Mexico border — was buried by 11.2 inches of snow on February 18. The town hasn’t seen an inch of snow in a single day since 1993.

Sources: KSAT.com and The Washington Post