In brief: A major winter storm continues to look likely for the Houston area Monday night and Tuesday, with the potential for heavy snow and sleet in parts of the region. Minor ice may occur near the coast, along with windy conditions. Travel will become difficult to impossible Tuesday morning and remain that way through at least Wednesday morning across most of the area. A significant, damaging freeze is likely Wednesday morning as well. We do warm up Thursday.
Current cold
If you’ve stepped outside, or like Eric, started running the Chevron Houston Marathon, you know it’s, um, cold.
Speaking of which, let’s check on Eric as of 8:40 am! Good luck to Eric the rest of the way!
Temperatures will recover some today, getting up into the low or mid-40s. Another cold night is expected tonight, with lows in the 20s across most of the area away from the coast. Expect a hard freeze for many outlying areas and some areas in the city too.
Remember the basic preparations you should be taking.
- PLANTS. Protect tropical vegetation. Please note, with temperatures dropping this low, some vegetation will probably die regardless.
- PIPES. Protect any exposed outdoor pipes. Pipes in attics and along exterior walls of structures could freeze at these levels.
- SPRINKLERS. Sprinkler systems should be shut off and properly drained.
- ANIMALS. Prepare proper shelter and warmth for animals and livestock and make sure water sources are not frozen.
And also remember to check on people that may not have adequate insulation or access to heating.
Monday
Most of tomorrow should be fine. We will see increasing clouds that may hold temperatures back a bit. Highs should be in the upper-30s. Precipitation begins sometime either Monday afternoon or evening. With temperatures comfortably above freezing, whatever falls initially may be a light rain. Resist the urge to call bust.
Sidebar: The air mass over us will be quite dry. This is important. As the rain begins falling on Monday afternoon and evening, it may fall as virga (rain that does not reach the ground). But as it evaporates on the way down, it will cool the entirety of the atmosphere from a few thousand feet up to the ground. This is essentially priming us for snow and sleet. So initially, it may fall as rain, but that will change Monday night…