AUSTIN, Texas — As the winter storm closes in, response teams are ready to help.

The team at the American Red Cross of Central & South Texas is ready to respond to whatever develops. They are already deploying services.

Texas volunteers are working to keep people fed, housed, and warm during this severe weather event.

Bill Dorman’s colleagues call him the shelter guru. He is the mass care lead for the Central and South Texas regions of the American Red Cross. Right now he is responding to severe winter conditions across the Lone Star State.

"I've lived in Texas my whole life and this is, this is one for the ages, so we are preparing," explained Dorman. "Comfort kits, they're toiletry items that we give to people for single-family house fires. Or when they come to a shelter, if people need snacks and water, we'll supply them at warming centers. We are, however, in this situation more or less, in a support role to local government, city, county, state government."

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Spectrum News 1 weather staff confirm, the coldest air since December of 1989 is expected to blast through Texas, followed by two more rounds of wintry weather.

Dorman is a volunteer, along with about 90 percent of the Red Cross workforce, like logistics team member Ben Quick. Quick just got back from delivering supplies in Bastrop. Now they are working on loading up the feeding vehicle.

"Feels really good," said Quick.

Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration ahead of the storm. The Red Cross anticipates it will expand into a pretty significant operation over the next few days.

"We see a lot of house fires in the winter time. And now with this cold weather, we see a lot of power outages and people who need a warming center," said Dorman.

We received these cold weather safety tips from The American Red Cross of Central & South Texas:

  • Do not drive
  • Do not place flammable items within 3 feet of a heat source
  • Do not leave a space heater unattended
  • Do not operate a generator in your home or garage
  • Do not cook on a grill inside your home or garage
  • Do not overload extension cords or power strips

Red Cross spokesperson and professional meteorologist Richard McAlister says following the tips could save your life.

"If you lose your home, if you lose prescription medicine, if you lose durable medical equipment, we can help you. We can put you up in a place to stay until you can get your life on the road to recovery, but the one thing we can't do is we can't, we can't help you if you have passed away," said McAlister, Spokesperson & PIO, American Red Cross, Central & South Texas.