What we know about Austin weather on Friday: Sunshine, thawing temperatures to reach 50

As of 10 a.m., about 122,000 Austin Energy customers remained without power after a series of ice storms earlier this week downed tree limbs that snapped electrical lines. But the National Weather Service's forecast for Austin on Friday offers some hope for relief.

We can expect partly sunny skies with daytime temperatures reaching 50 degrees amid cool north winds of 5 to 10 mph. But ore clouds will roll in overnight, when temperatures could sink to freezing levels again.

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Is it still bad on the roads?

Yes, in some places. Despite the thawing temperatures in the forecast, Austin Fire Department officials reported early Friday that fire crews were responding to several collisions in West and Northwest Austin after reports of ice on the roadway.

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Are there school closings in Austin today?

Yes. Several Austin area districts, including the Austin district, are keeping schools closed Friday amid ongoing power outages. For some districts, Friday would be the fourth straight day of no classes.

Several districts said the need to cancel class Friday was due to power issues and downed tree limbs in streets around campuses as well as spoiled food in cafeteria refrigerators.

Many Austin school district campuses aren't safe for students yet and 20 campuses were without power as of Thursday, according to information from the district. Fallen tree limbs have made roads around some schools impassible or created unsafe conditions on routes students normally use to walk to school, according to the district.

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When will power be restored?

Not sure. Thursday morning, Austin Energy officials said that they believed they could get all power restored by 6 p.m. Friday, but as crews have evaluated the outages, it is now clear that restoration will take longer than anticipated, they said.

Jackie Sargent, general manager for Austin Energy, the city's electrical utility, said the situation is challenging because of the complexity of the damage and the obstacles crews are facing. She said that as temperatures rise and conditions improve, more power would slowly be restored.

Austin Energy on Friday morning said that since 5 p.m. Thursday, the city utility restored power to an additional 31,585 customers, for a total of 172,339 customers restored since Wednesday morning, when the first wave of outages began.

"There are now close to 400 lineworkers from Austin Energy and neighboring utilities working to get customers back online," the utility said in a statement. "Austin Energy is grateful for the assistance of neighboring utilities, including New Braunfels Utilities, CenterPoint Energy and Renegade."

What can I do to help restore power?

Austin Energy is warning residents that circuits can become overloaded if lights, electronics and thermostats are left on while crews are fixing the outage. This is called cold load pickup and it may cause a second outage.

The utility says its customers without power can avoid cold load pickup by:

• Turning off their thermostats.
• Turning off or unplugging any fixtures or appliances.
• Only leaving on one light to indicate when the power is back on.

"Crews may also be knocking on residents’ doors in order to access Austin Energy equipment, such as energy equipment in a backyard or a utility easement located on a resident’s property," the utility said in its statement Friday. "Austin Energy personnel will be clearly identifiable with badges and in Austin Energy vehicles. Please work with them on allowing access as needed."

What should I do with broken tree limbs?

Austin residents can call 311 to request a curbside collection of downed tree limbs at no charge. Small branches and yard trimmings can go into the city-issued green compost carts or lawn and leaf bags and set out for the next scheduled collection.

"Residents with physical limitations or financial needs requiring help cleaning up winter storm debris can request volunteer assistance through the Austin Disaster Relief Network," the city said in a statement Friday. Those needing help can submit this online form: link.adrn.org/ws-cleanup-request.

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What's the forecast for this weekend?

We will likely wake up Saturday to patchy fog. Otherwise, expect mostly sunny skies with temperatures climbing to 59 degrees as warmer southerly winds return to the region, forecasters said. Partly cloudy skies at night also will help keep overnight temperatures above freezing, with a low around 41.

Sunday should live up to its name and deliver sunny skies with a high of 70 degrees, which is closer to normal for this time of year. At night, look for mostly clear skies with a low around 48.