A cold front quietly moved through Houston during the overnight hours, and this will set the stage for calm, cool weather for the rest of the week. Winter is here, and it will feel like it.
Tuesday through Thursday
Not much to say about these days. We’ll see sunny conditions, with high temperatures in the mid-60s, and chilly nights. Look for lows in the upper 30s to 40 degrees for inland areas, and around 50 degrees right along the coast. We’ll also see some modest northerly breezes on Tuesday in the wake of the front.
Friday
Another front will arrive on Thursday night, probably after midnight, which will lead to a chilly day on Friday. I’d expect high temperatures of around 60 degrees.
After a cold, winter-like weekend in Houston, temperatures will moderate some. But we’re not going back up to warm, 80-degree weather any time soon, and in reality the overall pattern looks really pleasant for at least the next week or so. At this end of today’s post we’ll also take a preliminary look ahead at weather for the Christmas holiday.
Monday
After a chilly start with lows in the 30s for inland areas and 40s close to the coast, southerly winds and sunshine will allow for highs to warm into the low 70s. The return of a southerly flow will be brief, however, as a cold front pushes into the region—likely sometime between midnight on Monday night and sunrise on Tuesday morning. There won’t be enough moisture ahead of the front to produce any precipitation.
Sure, it’s cold out there on Monday morning. But it definitely could be colder. (Weather Bell)
Tuesday through Friday
Truth be told, there won’t be much change in our weather this week thanks to a front early on Tuesday, and an additional front Thursday. We’re going to see mostly sunny skies, mostly clear nights, highs in the low- to mid-60s, and overnight lows generally around 40 degrees for inland areas, and upper 40s to 50 degrees right along the coast. This is pretty typical weather for mid-winter in Houston.
Just so we’re all on the same page for this crazy weather, I want you to recall that on Monday—just three days ago—the high temperature in Houston was 81 degrees. And now we are talking about snow. And speaking of snow, here is the scene in College Station on Thursday evening, shortly after sunset.
A winter weather advisory is in effect for northern counties in the Houston metro area (i.e. Waller, Montgomery, and Grimes) where moderate snowfall may stick to some bridges this evening as surface temperatures fall to below freezing. Up to 2 or even 3 inches of snow is possible for some areas in the Brazos Valley area, as the snow continues to fall.
Here’s a look at the radar, showing (in blue) areas of snow as of 8pm.
It’s snowing in Texas. In early December. Radar at 8pm CT Thursday. (Intellicast)
This system is slowly moving to the east-southeast. Short-term models suggest the band of moderate to heavy snowfall that stretches from Austin to College Station to Huntsville in the map above will weaken as it moves into the Houston area later tonight. This perhaps means the central part of Houston will see only flurries, or no snowfall at all. We’re not entirely sure.
It’s snowing in Houston—or rather above Houston. By looking at the radar this morning we can see that snow is falling down to around 2,000 feet above the surface and then melting. This is not uniform, and I expect that a few areas around, and north of town this morning may see a few snowflakes or sleet. We don’t expect anything to stick, so it shouldn’t affect travel around the area. More of this wintry mix will be possible tonight—including the possibility of some real snow falling right along the coast.
Thursday
We’re going to see one more dreary, winter day today as an upper-level storm system slowly moves through the area and off to the east. Rainfall accumulations won’t be a concern—we’re just seeing light to moderate precipitation—but the cold rain will add to an already cold day. Highs Thursday are unlikely to reach 50 degrees.
Forecast low temperatures for Friday morning in Houston. (National Weather Service)
Things get interesting tonight, as temperatures are forecast to come down into the mid-30s in Houston. However, even as we’re cooling down this evening, precipitation should be ending from northwest to the southeast. This means for inland areas, likely north of Interstate 10, the rain may end before it gets cold enough to produce a wintry mix of snowflakes or sleet.
Likely, then, the best chance for a wintry mix will be closer to the coast, where precipitation will probably linger into Thursday night or early Friday morning. (As Matt explained in depth last night, such forecasts are very, very tricky. A lot of things have to go right to make snow in Houston). Our best guess is that coastal areas see some snowflakes later tonight, although kids may have to stay up fairly late to catch them. There’s the potential for some snow accumulations south of Houston, perhaps in Matagorda County, or well to the east of us in Southern Louisiana. Locally we don’t expect that, at least right now. Regardless of what falls from the sky, expect a very chilly night.
