Fog, smoke from fireworks could make for very poor visibility tonight

Happy New Year’s Eve! I’m just jumping in with a quick post this morning to highlight the possibility of poor seeing tonight due to fog and smoke. Unfortunately it could coincide with the start of the New Year, when people are coming home after festivities tonight.

The issue is this: Before the arrival of a cold front on Monday morning, we are going to see near ideal conditions for the formation of fog. On top of that we can expect to see smoke and particulate matter from New Year’s Eve fireworks in the air. This may create very poor visibility on roads tonight, especially after midnight, and most likely closer to the coast.

The latest outlook for wind speeds is just 1 to 5 mph tonight after midnight. In addition, there is likely to be a stout capping inversion in place, which will prevent air near the surface from rising and mixing. And finally, air temperatures will very nearly match dewpoints in the upper 50s after midnight, creating ideal conditions for the formation of fog. All of this could combine to form thick air with poor visibility. Please take this into consideration with your plans to be on roadways after midnight tonight, and drive with extra care.

As expected, a cold front will push through Houston on Monday morning, bringing northerly winds that will quickly disperse the fog and smoky air. However, this front is unlikely to reach the Houston metro area until around sunrise, give or take, on New Year’s Day. The holiday will be partly to mostly cloudy, with high temperatures in the 60s. We’ll be back with a full update on Tuesday, January 2nd.