HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Texas power grid operator is keeping a close eye on the grid as we deal with below-freezing temperatures.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, issued a Weather Watch Monday through Friday because of the arctic air. Officials say grid conditions are expected to be normal.

FULL FORECAST: Below-freezing temperatures, dangerous wind chills Monday morning

Freeze Warnings and a Cold Weather Advisory are in effect Monday morning with temperatures dropping below-freezing…Show more

Because of that, customers need not take action. The Weather Watch is an alert ERCOT sends out to say they are aware of higher electrical demand and the potential for lower reserves.

The company said it completed pre-winter safety and readiness actions in the Houston area, including testing and inspecting critical equipment and repairing damaged insulation and waterproofing materials.

The cold conditions this week are causing some anxiety for some neighbors, including Kendra Johnson. Four years ago, her pipes burst after losing power during a winter storm.

“You’re still frantic,” Johnson explained. “Your nerves are still at ease being a homeowner. You are still frantic. It’s up in the air. We really don’t know.”

A University of Houston study shows that 91% of Harris County neighbors lost power for an average of two days, and 40% of UH respondents also suffered water damage from burst pipes.

Johnson and her family know these statistics too well, which is why they’re worried about this week.

“The family, we’re all talking about it,” Johnson said. “We’re texting each other. ‘It’s going to get cold. Beware and wrap your pipes.'”

Energy Ogre COO David Kinchen believes this week won’t be like we saw four years ago.

“That was a very bad storm, and it really checked every box for the worst possible scenario,” Kinchen explained. “I don’t see much overlap. Right now, if you got to ERCOT’s website and look, we have plenty of reserves.”

Kinchen said that over the last four years, the state has made providers winterize, increased solar, and added storage-improvements, but not enough to remove risks.

“We could say, ‘Hey, we want a grid that never has a weather watch, you don’t need to have constraints, and I don’t want to worry about having the weather be a problem and have a really robust grid.’ Well, we’d all have to pay ten times more for power,” Kinchen said.

With the cold snap here, Star of Hope, which has helped people experiencing homelessness in Houston since 1907, will be working to pass out coats, hats, and blankets to the city’s homeless starting at 12:30 p.m.

READ MORE: Cold weather preparations begin in Houston as officials look to safely shelter the homeless

Ahead of a significant cold snap arriving in SE Texas next week, plans are being made to help those who are unhoused.

There are an estimated 3,200 unhoused people in Houston.

Star of Hope could use your help if you have any cold-weather gear to spare. They are collecting new or gently used coats, hats, and blankets of all sizes-anything you’d use to stay warm.

You can drop off donations from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. this week at either their Lamar Street location downtown or their Reed Road location off SH-288.

Star of Hope is trying to help as many people as they can. They say both of their shelters are either at or near capacity.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A Tornado Watch has been issued northeast of Harris County for potential rotating storms this afternoon as a cold front moves through. Montgomery, Liberty, San Jacinto, Walker, Polk, Trinity, and Houston counties are all under a Tornado Watch until 6PM.

A line of storms along a cold front will bring the potential for some strong and severe storms, especially northeast of the Houston area. It’ll turn windy and much colder Sunday evening.

All of Southeast Texas is under a Freeze Warning from Midnight to 9AM tomorrow.

What can we expect as the Arctic cold front passes Sunday afternoon?

The cold front will bring us scattered showers and thunderstorms for Sunday. Right now we have a 80% chance for showers and storms, especially during the afternoon. We can’t rule out a couple of strong to severe storms but it looks like an isolated risk. Also, the instability parameters look lower than what we experienced with last weekend’s severe weather, so we are NOT expecting a repeat of last weekend. More than likely, it would be more of a straight line wind and hail threat, but isolated tornadoes are possible.

Just how cold will it be behind the Arctic cold front?

Temps will fall from a high of 77 Sunday afternoon to the middle 40s by 9pm Sunday evening. And it’ll be very windy Sunday evening as well so please have a thick jacket and a hat it you’ll be out. Next week will feature the coldest temps so far this winter with lows in the 30s and highs in the 40s. Feels like temps Monday morning could fall to the upper teens for a short time. It’s looking more likely that a good portion of SE Texas will drop below freezing sometime next week.

Is a hard freeze possible, and could we get any frozen precipitation?

Our Freeze Warning is from Midnight through 9AM Monday, and for most the expectation is for a Light Freeze, not a hard pipe-bursting freeze. A Hard Freeze is possible in Trinity, Madison, and Houston Counties. As far as wintry precipitation goes, it now appears that our northern counties will have a very small chance of some ice Thursday morning if the rain starts early enough. Temps may be below the freezing mark for a short period of time north of a College Station to Lake Livingston line. At this time it doesn’t look like the metro Houston area will see any ice but we’ll keep an eye on it. Also, a major winter storm is possible over the northern part of the state Thursday into Friday. If you’re planning to head to Dallas then, you might be dealing with ice and several inches of snow.