Earlier this summer, I wrote one of our first ‘weather why’ pieces on the heat index. Now that Eric has written the obituary for Summer 2016 (RIP), we can discuss the heat index’s winter cousin—the wind chill. Since regional wind chill temperatures could fall into the upper teens tonight, it’s important to understand how wind chill works.
What is wind chill?
Wind chill describes how cold the air feels against your skin, not the actual air temperature. Our bodies radiate heat out at all times, which is why we wear layers to trap our body heat in the cold. Without any layers to trap that heat, it radiates into the surrounding air. However, if the air is calm, that heat will hang out near your body, creating a thin, warm insulating layer near your skin.
Summer, which began March 13th with a high of 87 degrees and remained persistently alive through the sultry months of September and October, died on Thursday morning of winter-like causes. She was eight months old.
Today
It kind of feels like summer finally died, right? With the forceful arrive of a cold front early this morning, Houston has definitely moved into a winter-like pattern. Highs this morning in the mid-50s will slowly fall throughout the day, and gusty winds will blow all day. Harris, Fort Bend and Wharton counties, as well as those counties immediately along the coast, are under a wind advisory through 6pm CT with gusts up to 35mph possible.
Tonight Houston faces the possibility of its first freeze. Harris and inland counties are under a freeze warning tonight from midnight through 9am. A freeze is most likely for those north of a line from Katy to Spring, but please remember there are a lot of factors at work here. The potential for some clouds, and moist ground (which will retain some warmth) may mitigate against the possibility of a freeze for these areas. In any case, tonight will be the region’s coldest since last winter.
Good morning. Cool ground and calm winds are producing some patchy fog across the Houston area near Galveston Bay and a few other locations. This should persist until 8 or 9am CT this morning. On a related note, Matt and I want to wholeheartedly thank all of the supporters who bought t-shirts to support the site, and made donations to support our work. The fundraiser was a tremendous success. Look for your t-shirts to arrive a few days before Christmas.
Today
Expect mild conditions today, with partly to mostly cloudy skies and high temperatures in the upper 60s. With only a modest amount of moisture pooling ahead of a strong cold front, conditions won’t be ideal for rain showers this evening and during the overnight hours, and most areas probably will only see a tenth of an inch, or two.
Wednesday night and Thursday
A cold front racing across the plains states today should reach northern parts of the Houston area before or around midnight, and sweep through the city and be off the coast around, or shortly after sunrise Thursday. We’re going to wake up to blustery, cold conditions with temperatures generally around 50 degrees, and feeling quite a bit colder due to winds gusting to about 30mph for inland areas, and up to 40mph along the coast. Highs Thursday are unlikely to top 50 degrees and will fall during the afternoon hours.
Dewpoint gradient on Thursday morning, from negative numbers on the upper plains to the 60s along the Texas coast. (Texas Tech)
Good morning. It’s cool across the region this morning, with lows starting at about 50 degrees. But this is only the beginning of winter in Houston…
Today
The radar is clear this morning, but with virtually no wind and the moist ground, expect some low-lying clouds to persist for a few hours. After the fog burns off we’ll see mostly sunny skies today with high temperatures around 70 degrees—a bit warmer closer to the coast and cooler for inland areas. A weak cool front arrives later today, which will allow for temperatures tonight to again fall to around 50 degrees.
Wednesday
The front will keep temperatures moderate on Wednesday, with partly sunny skies and highs near 70 degrees. Rain showers should hold off until Wednesday night, when there may be a broken line of storms along with, or just ahead of a strong cold front moving through the Houston region. I’m not expecting much accumulation.
Thursday
Low temperatures on Thursday morning will be around 50 degrees, and as the front blows in they’re not going to rise during the daytime hours. As the season’s first real blue norther we’re going to see strong, gusty winds out of the north beginning early Thursday, with gusts perhaps exceeding 30 mph along the coast. The winds should continue for most of the daylight hours. Temperatures will probably fall during the afternoon hours, and lows Thursday night will be the coldest of the season.
Will it freeze? I’m still betting that enough clouds linger Friday morning to keep most of the Houston metro area just above freezing. Here’s the latest forecast map from the National Weather Service as to their best guess for a freezing line.
