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Winter storm closes Houston, Galveston, Texas City and Corpus Christi ports

Winter storm closes Houston, Galveston, Texas City and Corpus Christi ports. The disruption ran from 2021-02-14 (14 February 2021) to 2021-02-23 (23 February 2021), 10 days, affecting Houston, Galveston, Texas City, Corpus Christi, Freeport (US). The measured effect for this event has not been computed yet.

World Freight Monitor permanent record. https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2021/winter-storm-uri-texas-gulf-ports-2021/. Record last updated 2026-10-29.

Key facts

Started
2021-02-14 (14 February 2021)
Ended
2021-02-23 (23 February 2021)
Status
ended
Severity
2 Moderate
Scope
regional
Chokepoints
None
Lanes
None
Countries
United States
Confidence
medium: Closure and reopening times for Galveston, Texas City, Houston, Corpus Christi and Freeport come from one Argus report citing the Coast Guard, and the Maritime Executive reported no Coast Guard restriction on 2021-02-16. Port Houston's own statement is undated on the suspension and reopening, so the end date is an upper bound taken from the 2021-02-23 commission meeting.
First reported
2021-02-16 (16 February 2021)
  • Severity basis: Port Houston suspended work at its eight public terminals for what a trade report described as nearly a week, and the Houston Ship Channel closed from 19:30 on 2021-02-16 to 10:30 on 2021-02-17, which falls in the band of 24 hours to 7 days at port level.

What happened

A severe winter storm disrupted Texas Gulf Coast ports in February 2021. Galveston and Texas City closed to vessel traffic at 19:00 on 2021-02-14 (14 February 2021), and the Corpus Christi pilots stopped boarding ships that day. According to the Coast Guard as reported by Argus, the Port of Houston and Houston Ship Channel closed at 19:30 on 2021-02-16 and reopened at 10:30 on 2021-02-17. Port Houston suspended its eight public terminals for what a trade report called nearly a week, and told its commissioners on 2021-02-23 that all had resumed. The sources reviewed give no reopening time for Galveston, Texas City or Corpus Christi, and one trade report said no Coast Guard navigation restriction was posted on 2021-02-16.

Measured effect

Port calls, Houston

Not yet computed. The effect engine (wfm-effect-1.2) will compare 2021-02-14 to 2021-02-23 with a 56 day baseline ending 8 days before the start, once the series for this window is loaded.

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.

This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.

Container ship port calls, Houston

Not yet computed. The effect engine (wfm-effect-1.2) will compare 2021-02-14 to 2021-02-23 with a 56 day baseline ending 8 days before the start, once the series for this window is loaded.

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.

This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.

Port calls, Galveston

Not yet computed. The effect engine (wfm-effect-1.2) will compare 2021-02-14 to 2021-02-23 with a 56 day baseline ending 8 days before the start, once the series for this window is loaded.

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.

This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.

Port calls, Texas City

Not yet computed. The effect engine (wfm-effect-1.2) will compare 2021-02-14 to 2021-02-23 with a 56 day baseline ending 8 days before the start, once the series for this window is loaded.

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.

This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.

Port calls, Corpus Christi

Not yet computed. The effect engine (wfm-effect-1.2) will compare 2021-02-14 to 2021-02-23 with a 56 day baseline ending 8 days before the start, once the series for this window is loaded.

Source: IMF PortWatch (portwatch.imf.org), International Monetary Fund, using UN Global Platform AIS data. Statistics derived by World Freight Monitor. Terms.

This is a measured change in public data during the event window, compared with a baseline before it. It shows timing, not cause. We describe an event as causing a change only when an official source says so.

Timeline

  1. Galveston and Texas City close to all vessel traffic at 19:00, and the Aransas-Corpus Christi Pilots Association stops boarding vessels in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel because of gale-force wind and record-low temperatures. [s3] [s4]
  2. A Houston Pilots Association dispatcher says many terminals are closed, with about 13 vessels waiting to leave and 18 waiting to enter. The Maritime Executive reports no Captain of the Port restriction. That evening the Coast Guard closes the Houston Ship Channel and port at 19:30, and Corpus Christi closes at 23:50. [s1] [s2] [s3]
  3. The Coast Guard reopens the Houston Ship Channel and Port of Houston at 10:30. Freeport closes at 07:45, and Galveston and Texas City remain closed. The Port of Corpus Christi says it is operating with limitations and that pilots are moving vessels sporadically. [s3] [s4]
  4. At its regular meeting the Port of Houston Authority commission says the public terminals suspended during the storm have reopened, after a loss of power, water and other systems at several terminals. [s5]

Cause

Port Houston said it suspended operations because of record sub-freezing temperatures, and the Port of Corpus Christi cited freezing temperatures, heavy precipitation, fog and gale-force wind. Port Houston said several public terminals also lost power and water. Attributed by: Port Houston and Port of Corpus Christi Authority. [s4] [s5]

Resolution

2021-02-23 (23 February 2021): The Coast Guard reopened the Houston Ship Channel on 2021-02-17. Port Houston reported at its commission meeting on 2021-02-23 that all public terminals had resumed operations. The date is an upper bound, and the sources reviewed do not say when Galveston, Texas City, Freeport and Corpus Christi resumed. AJOT described the Port Houston shutdown as lasting nearly a week. [s3] [s5] [s6]

Corrections

No corrections to this record as of 2026-10-29 (29 October 2026).

Sources

  1. [s1] gCaptain (Reuters), Deep freeze shuts Houston Ship Channel, published 2021-02-16 (16 February 2021), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)
  2. [s2] The Maritime Executive, Record low temperatures impede marine operations in Houston, published 2021-02-16 (16 February 2021), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)
  3. [s3] Argus Media, Houston Ship Channel reopens to vessel traffic, published 2021-02-17 (17 February 2021), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)
  4. [s4] Port of Corpus Christi Authority, Media advisory, Port of Corpus Christi Remains Operational Through Winter Storm, published 2021-02-17 (17 February 2021), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (official)
  5. [s5] Port Houston (Business Wire), Port Houston Weathers Historic Winter Storm, published 2021-02-24 (24 February 2021), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (official)
  6. [s6] American Journal of Transportation, Winter storm takes toll on Port Houston volumes, published 2021-03-15 (15 March 2021), accessed 2026-10-28. Archived copy. (press)

Cite this record

The address of this record is permanent and a correction is always logged on this page, so a citation names the version you read. Add the date you accessed it.

Plain text

World Freight Monitor. "Winter storm closes Houston, Galveston, Texas City and Corpus Christi ports." Last updated 2026-10-29 (29 October 2026). https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2021/winter-storm-uri-texas-gulf-ports-2021/

APA

World Freight Monitor. (2026). Winter storm closes Houston, Galveston, Texas City and Corpus Christi ports. World Freight Monitor. https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2021/winter-storm-uri-texas-gulf-ports-2021/

BibTeX

@misc{wfm_winter_storm_uri_texas_gulf_ports_2021,
  author = {{World Freight Monitor}},
  title = {Winter storm closes Houston, Galveston, Texas City and Corpus Christi ports},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Last updated 2026-10-29},
  url = {https://worldfreightmonitor.com/events/2021/winter-storm-uri-texas-gulf-ports-2021/}
}