Frustrated Texans cope with humor as #TexasFreeze trends before winter storm

Texans have been here before: subfreezing weather is ahead, and many are worried that the power grid will once again crumble under the weight of a decidedly un-Texan freeze that until last year, had been largely foreign to the Lone Star State.

Taking a break from the panic and PTSD from last year's Winter Storm Uri, which left millions without power and thousands in Austin without water for days in February 2021, many Texans are taking to Twitter to vent their frustrations—and poke fun at Texas leadership.

Dominating the #TexasFreeze hashtag on Twitter, which is pumping out 100+ new Tweets an hour, are jokes about Sen. Ted Cruz. Over 200 Texans died during the winter freeze, including 28 in Travis County, so many Texans weren't pleased to find Cruz and his family had booked a trip to balmy Cancun, Mexico during the February 2021 freeze.

Even Cruz himself got in on the joke, merging a Cancun reference with a not-so-well-received tweet on Wednesday morning.

Others are throwing fewer punches with their pop-culture quips about the upcoming freeze. Topics including "PTSD" and "ERCOT," referencing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which is in charge of the state electric grid, are trending in Texas.

Popular Austin accounts including Evil Mopac have put in their two cents on the upcoming storm.

Receiving even more hate than Cruz on social media is Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been accused of failing to properly reform power grid issues in the wake of the 2021 storm. Abbott, who said in November he could "guarantee the lights won't go out," said in a Monday press conference that he was confident in the state's grid but that "no one can guarantee that there won’t be a load shed event."

While jokes have been well-received among stressed-out Texans, some took to the trends to remind users, especially out-of-state residents, that the Feb 2021 winter storm was a devastating disaster that took lives, revealed glaring errors in Texas' power grid and gave many Texans permanent fear of a repeat event.