Mom Gives Birth During Texas Freeze, Names Daughter Alaska

Ashtin Torrez chose the name over a year ago after losing her first child, and the timing of her daughter's birth felt like a sign.

Published on Feb. 27, 2026

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As a record Arctic blast gripped Dallas and temperatures lingered in the teens, Ashtin Torrez went into labor on Jan. 28 and delivered a daughter she had named Alaska over a year earlier, while pregnant with her son Elias, who she lost at 35 weeks' gestation. The timing of Alaska's birth during the historic Texas freeze felt to Torrez like a reassuring sign from her late son.

Why it matters

Torrez's story highlights the profound grief and hope that can coexist for parents who have experienced the loss of a child, and how they may find meaning and solace in the timing of a subsequent child's birth, even during extreme weather events.

The details

Torrez had chosen the name Alaska over a year earlier, while pregnant with her son Elias, who she later lost at 35 weeks' gestation. When she became pregnant again and learned she was carrying a girl, she kept the name. That Alaska arrived during one of the coldest stretches in recent Dallas memory felt to Torrez less like coincidence than something closer to providence.

  • Torrez delivered her daughter Alaska on January 28, 2026 during a historic winter storm that paralyzed Dallas.
  • Torrez had chosen the name Alaska over a year earlier, while pregnant with her son Elias, who she lost at 35 weeks' gestation.

The players

Ashtin Torrez

A 32-year-old mother who delivered her daughter Alaska during a historic winter storm in Dallas.

Cameron Hale

Torrez's partner and the father of her children.

Elias

Torrez's son who she lost at 35 weeks' gestation, and whom she believes sent her daughter Alaska.

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What they’re saying

“I feel like God is always sending signs.”

— Ashtin Torrez (TODAY.com)

“That experience was traumatizing, filling out a death certificate instead of a birth certificate.”

— Ashtin Torrez (TODAY.com)

“I felt a lot of guilt. Joy and sorrow, she adds, existed side by side.”

— Ashtin Torrez (TODAY.com)

“It felt like reassurance. I believe my son sent me my daughter. He knew how distraught I was. It was like he was telling me he was at peace, that everything was how it was supposed to be.”

— Ashtin Torrez (TODAY.com)

The takeaway

Torrez's story is a poignant example of how parents can find meaning and solace in the timing of a child's birth, even during the most challenging circumstances, as a way to honor a previous loss and move forward with hope.