Harvey hero opens doors amid Houston power outages
By
Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Feb 22, 2021 1:51 PM EST
Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale transformed his furniture store into an emergency shelter for Texans affected by brutal winter weather. He says it’s just the right thing to do. Those he’s helped say it’s a blessing.
It's a little out of season for hurricanes, but Harvey Hero Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale has still opened the doors of his retail stores to Houstonians in need of a place to rest amid the brutal stretch of winter weather that has pummeled Texas this week.
After a hard-hitting storm left 4 million customers in the cold by Tuesday morning, McIngvale, who had opened his furniture store to Houstonians during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019, swung them open once again on Tuesday.
"We were prepared from the get-go to open up depending on how serious it was," McIngvale, layered-up in a few shirts and a jacket sporting the Gallery Furniture logo, told AccuWeather via Zoom. "When the massive outages because of the lack of electricity began to happen, I knew it was time to act because so many people [were] at home in the cold in the dark."
Warned early on to stock up on diesel fuel for his generator by a friend in the oil and gas trade business who is familiar with the electrical infrastructure in Texas, McIngvale opened his doors to Houstonians in need of shelter at two of his stores -- 6006 North Freeway in Houston and 7227 West Grand Parkway South in Richmond, Texas -- after receiving the green light from the mayor, considering the conditions of the roads.
Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale welcomes guests at Gallery Furniture in Houston, Texas, most of whom were experiencing a power outage. (Gallery Furniture/Efrain Gonzalez)
By 10 a.m. CST Tuesday, up to 3 inches of freezing rain and ice was reported near Houston. While the ice contributed to power outages across the state, temperatures dipped to record levels, increasing the danger for people without heat.
Low temperatures plummeted to 16 and 13 on Monday and Tuesday mornings, respectively, at Houston Intercontinental Airport, both new daily records for the site.
Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale spoke with AccuWeather over Zoom about opening his doors to the public to host people whose power went out.
The cold that had taken hold of the Houston area was historic. The 16-degree reading on Monday morning broke the old record of 18 degrees for Feb. 15 that had stood since 1905. The 13-degree reading tied the low-temperature record in Houston for Feb. 16 set back in 1895. Most people living in Houston had never experienced cold this extreme, let alone without power and heat.
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NASA Earth posted an image on Twitter showing the Houston area from space earlier in the month compared to Wednesday to illustrate the extent of power outages across the metropolitan area amid the extreme cold.
McIngvale estimated he hosted about 1,000 people on Tuesday with about 315 people staying overnight into Wednesday morning.
From large families with little kids to senior citizens, groups of all sizes and ages arrived at the store.
"The young and the old are the most vulnerable in these cases and the most susceptible to the cold, freezing weather, so we're trying to help everybody," McIngvale said. "But the majority of people coming in are young, big families or senior citizens."
The opening didn't go without a few hiccups, however. Normally, when dealing with tropical threats, there's a larger window for McIngvale to prepare -- plus there's the added bonus that his main store sits on higher ground, allowing the store to escape any impacts from flooding.
Families, along with senior citizens, made up a majority of the people who came to Gallery Furniture seeking shelter. (Gallery Furniture/Efrain Gonzalez)
While McIngvale was aware of the encroaching winter weather and the potential for electrical outages, sitting on higher ground didn't help him with the other impacts. The supply of food grew tight at one point, and frozen pipes had cut off access to running water.
The pipes burst at his store in Richmond, Texas, he said.
After snow fell over Houston, Texas, Gallery Furniture opened its doors to people who lost power. (Gallery Furniture/Efrain Gonzalez)
"Water was coming in like a fire hydrant unleashed for several hours, so we're still woking on cleaning up that mess," McIngvale said. The pipes also broke in his main store, but they were able to be quickly fixed. The location in Richmond, however, is no longer functioning as a warming center due to the electricity going out and the pipes having burst.
Porta potties and water bottles have since remedied the lack of running water at the Houston location, and companies such as Kroger and other vendors have stepped in to provide McIngvale with food and supplies. The mattress company Tempur-Pedic has also donated some of its mattresses to provide extra bedding.
Gallery Furniture allowed people to come in and get out of the cold as Houston faced power outages and sub-freezing temperatures. (Gallery Furniture/Efrain Gonzalez)
The biggest issues, he said, were keeping the heat on and getting the water running again -- two things he generally didn't have to worry about during hurricane season.
McIngvale added that local rapper Trae Tha Truth, who had worked alongside him to help Houstonians after Harvey and Imelda, may join their efforts later during the week, estimating the impacts from the storm would last through Thursday or Friday. However, his outlook remained hopeful.
"Tough times never last. Tough Texans do," McIngvale said. "We got through Harvey; we got through all these other storms. We'll get through this one, and we'll get through it together. There's a bright light at the end of that tunnel."
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, Fubo, and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
Harvey hero opens doors amid Houston power outages
By Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Feb 22, 2021 1:51 PM EST
Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale transformed his furniture store into an emergency shelter for Texans affected by brutal winter weather. He says it’s just the right thing to do. Those he’s helped say it’s a blessing.
It's a little out of season for hurricanes, but Harvey Hero Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale has still opened the doors of his retail stores to Houstonians in need of a place to rest amid the brutal stretch of winter weather that has pummeled Texas this week.
After a hard-hitting storm left 4 million customers in the cold by Tuesday morning, McIngvale, who had opened his furniture store to Houstonians during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and Tropical Storm Imelda in 2019, swung them open once again on Tuesday.
"We were prepared from the get-go to open up depending on how serious it was," McIngvale, layered-up in a few shirts and a jacket sporting the Gallery Furniture logo, told AccuWeather via Zoom. "When the massive outages because of the lack of electricity began to happen, I knew it was time to act because so many people [were] at home in the cold in the dark."
Warned early on to stock up on diesel fuel for his generator by a friend in the oil and gas trade business who is familiar with the electrical infrastructure in Texas, McIngvale opened his doors to Houstonians in need of shelter at two of his stores -- 6006 North Freeway in Houston and 7227 West Grand Parkway South in Richmond, Texas -- after receiving the green light from the mayor, considering the conditions of the roads.
Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale welcomes guests at Gallery Furniture in Houston, Texas, most of whom were experiencing a power outage. (Gallery Furniture/Efrain Gonzalez)
By 10 a.m. CST Tuesday, up to 3 inches of freezing rain and ice was reported near Houston. While the ice contributed to power outages across the state, temperatures dipped to record levels, increasing the danger for people without heat.
Low temperatures plummeted to 16 and 13 on Monday and Tuesday mornings, respectively, at Houston Intercontinental Airport, both new daily records for the site.
Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale spoke with AccuWeather over Zoom about opening his doors to the public to host people whose power went out.
The cold that had taken hold of the Houston area was historic. The 16-degree reading on Monday morning broke the old record of 18 degrees for Feb. 15 that had stood since 1905. The 13-degree reading tied the low-temperature record in Houston for Feb. 16 set back in 1895. Most people living in Houston had never experienced cold this extreme, let alone without power and heat.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
NASA Earth posted an image on Twitter showing the Houston area from space earlier in the month compared to Wednesday to illustrate the extent of power outages across the metropolitan area amid the extreme cold.
McIngvale estimated he hosted about 1,000 people on Tuesday with about 315 people staying overnight into Wednesday morning.
From large families with little kids to senior citizens, groups of all sizes and ages arrived at the store.
"The young and the old are the most vulnerable in these cases and the most susceptible to the cold, freezing weather, so we're trying to help everybody," McIngvale said. "But the majority of people coming in are young, big families or senior citizens."
The opening didn't go without a few hiccups, however. Normally, when dealing with tropical threats, there's a larger window for McIngvale to prepare -- plus there's the added bonus that his main store sits on higher ground, allowing the store to escape any impacts from flooding.
Families, along with senior citizens, made up a majority of the people who came to Gallery Furniture seeking shelter. (Gallery Furniture/Efrain Gonzalez)
While McIngvale was aware of the encroaching winter weather and the potential for electrical outages, sitting on higher ground didn't help him with the other impacts. The supply of food grew tight at one point, and frozen pipes had cut off access to running water.
The pipes burst at his store in Richmond, Texas, he said.
After snow fell over Houston, Texas, Gallery Furniture opened its doors to people who lost power. (Gallery Furniture/Efrain Gonzalez)
"Water was coming in like a fire hydrant unleashed for several hours, so we're still woking on cleaning up that mess," McIngvale said. The pipes also broke in his main store, but they were able to be quickly fixed. The location in Richmond, however, is no longer functioning as a warming center due to the electricity going out and the pipes having burst.
Porta potties and water bottles have since remedied the lack of running water at the Houston location, and companies such as Kroger and other vendors have stepped in to provide McIngvale with food and supplies. The mattress company Tempur-Pedic has also donated some of its mattresses to provide extra bedding.
Gallery Furniture allowed people to come in and get out of the cold as Houston faced power outages and sub-freezing temperatures. (Gallery Furniture/Efrain Gonzalez)
The biggest issues, he said, were keeping the heat on and getting the water running again -- two things he generally didn't have to worry about during hurricane season.
McIngvale added that local rapper Trae Tha Truth, who had worked alongside him to help Houstonians after Harvey and Imelda, may join their efforts later during the week, estimating the impacts from the storm would last through Thursday or Friday. However, his outlook remained hopeful.
"Tough times never last. Tough Texans do," McIngvale said. "We got through Harvey; we got through all these other storms. We'll get through this one, and we'll get through it together. There's a bright light at the end of that tunnel."
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, Fubo, and Verizon Fios.
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