It’s cold, wet, and windy outside today, and conditions aren’t going to improve as skies darken tonight. So let’s jump into the forecast for our region.
As of 3 pm CT, temperatures in the metro area have remained above freezing in Harris and surrounding counties. But they are falling, and for places like Katy and The Woodlands the mercury could reach freezing by around sunset. As roads will remain above freezing for a little while, even if these areas start to see some freezing rain, I think conditions should be generally fine for the evening commute as long as you’re not driving further north than Conroe, northwest of Hockley, or west of Katy. Beyond those locations there may start to be some ice accumulations. You can keep up with highway conditions at DriveTexas.
As for tonight, a light band of precipitation should move through the region from northwest of Houston to the coast between sunset and midnight. This may turn over to freezing rain at some locations where temperatures reach freezing. My sense right now is that the precipitation will be light enough, and the roads warm enough, that the primary concern will be patchy ice on bridges, ramps, and elevated roadways. We should have a much better sense of this threat later this evening, and Matt will have an update by or before 9 pm. The good news is that, after this point, the precipitation is probably over for areas inland of Highway 59/Interstate 69. So by late this evening we should have a sense of whether ice is going to pose problems for that portion of the Houston metro area tonight and into Friday morning.
Coastal areas
That leaves us with coastal areas. Temperatures should be warmer during the initial rain band, moving through before midnight. So we don’t think there’s much potential for icing then. However forecast models are showing the potential for the redevelopment of some light precipitation by around sunrise on Friday morning in the coastal tier of counties—Matagorda, Brazoria, Galveston, and Chambers. Frankly I don’t have great confidence in whether these showers will develop onshore or offshore; nor if they are over land whether the atmosphere will be cold enough to produce freezing rain. For now, I would say the chance of roadway impacts is considerably less than 50 percent on Friday morning, and probably less than 10 percent, but as of now it is not zero. Hopefully we’ll get a little better handle on this by the time Matt posts later this evening.
As for temperatures, they still look cold but manageable tonight, with lows likely dropping to around 25 degrees west and north of metro Houston, into the upper 20s to 30 degrees in the city, and to around freezing right along the coast. The state’s electricity grid seems to be holding up fairly well, too, but the acid test will come overnight and into Friday morning.
More later this evening.
A good night to stay home and watch hockey on TV. Or maybe play it on the back patio.
Ooh, there’s an idea. Watch my husband play from inside my home, instead of heading to the Aerodrome! 😁
It’s the All Star Break. There’s no hockey on TV until the Skills Competition tomorrow night ☹️
I think the word above is missing in this sentence “ As roads will remain freezing for a little while…..”
No, the roads do take a while to get that cold even if the air is below freezing.
That was my point. And it’s been corrected.
Already 32 degrees with sleet in Cypress.
But what about in the morning? What’s the dawn commute look like?
The stuff falling from the sky is still wet up in Willis, but temperature is right at freezing and our north-facing deck is covered in ice.
Near Decker Prairie here and I could definitely hear sleet when I was outside a minute ago, Still wet when hitting the ground, though. No ice yet.
Eric how did we get this snowfall in round top Texas this morning
If I read this correctly C of H will be 20-30 & Katy warmer @25?
🙂
The tee-shirt I bought during the fund raiser currently says:
HEAT
HUMIDITY
HURRICANES
NO HYPE (“HYPE” with a big “X” thru it)
It needs another word – “HICE”
🙂
Sleeting in Katy
I’m fighting the temptation to ask if you are going to evacuate…. 😉
Do we need to cover our plants before tonight?
Yes. Familiarize yourself with what is in your landscaping and Google their ‘cold hardiness’ or ‘cold tolerance’. Under 45 degrees can kill some plants in Houston, and then of course, under 32 degrees wiil wipe out many more.
From 7pm Thursday evening through 10am Friday morning, the temps will be below freezing. That is 13 hours of freezing weather and that is enough to mutilate a lot of your landscaping.
We’ll know it’s a disaster here in Texas when “Ted Cruz jets off to Cancun”. He’s now the “Evacuate Katy” of sub-freezing weather.
Thank You for keeping us informed and updated. Much appreciated! 🌧️
Thanks Matt and Eric. You always keep us updated out here in Katy and we appreciate it.