In brief: A winter storm has brought a mixture of precipitation to Houston overnight, including snow and sleet. This wintry precipitation will end later this morning, and we will see some sunshine and above-freezing temperatures this afternoon before a very cold night.
Storm status
The Houston region has received a mix of snow, sleet, and other forms of wintry precipitation during the overnight hours, setting up slick conditions on Houston area roadways. Total snow amounts have varied widely, from a fine dusting of ice and sleet in some locations to 3 inches or more elsewhere.
Additionally, it is quite cold outside this morning. Air temperatures are generally in the mid- to upper-20s for most of the Houston region. However the addition of brisk northerly winds, gusting up to 25 or even 30 mph from the north, have made it feel like it is in the teens outside.
With temperatures now well below freezing for much of Houston, what is falling is largely sticking to area roadways that have been untreated with salt. There are dozens of reports of ice on area freeways, feeders, and major roadways, some of which are shut down. You can track an list of Houston-area icy roadways on Houston Transtar.
In short, for some areas it is a winder wonderland outside, for some a sleet-fest, and for all a dangerous time to be outside. Please do stay home this morning if it is at all possible.
Tuesday
The latest modeling indicates that the precipitation we are seeing this morning will exit to the east by 9 or 10 am CT. We should then see some clearing skies early this afternoon across Houston, including the coast by later this afternoon. This sunshine should push temperatures toward the upper 30s, allowing for some of the ice and snow on the surface to melt.
Additionally, the combination of sunshine and windy conditions (from the north at about 15 mph) should begin the process of sublimation. Sublimation occurs when snow transitions directly into water vapor, without first becoming liquid water. I’m writing all of this because it is possible that some roads will become clear and dry this afternoon, especially for locations further from the coast where there will be a longer period of sunshine to work with.
This matters because temperatures are going to freeze again tonight. So if there is moisture on roads, it will freeze into ice tonight, and into Wednesday morning. This could lead to black ice or situations in which there are patches of icy, dangerous roads tonight.
The temperature tonight at your location will depend on how much snow cover remains. That’s because new snow has a very high albedo (up to 0.95 out of 1), which means it is highly reflective of heat (radiation) back into space. So locations where there is a snowpack tonight will be 5 or 10 degrees cooler than areas with “darker” surfaces not covered by snow.
Over the last couple of days we have watched as forecast models have really struggled with how cold temperatures will get in the Houston region on Wednesday morning. As a best guess, areas with a layer of snow may drop into the mid-teens tonight, and areas with less or no snow are likely to only fall into the mid-20s or so. My sense is that most of Houston probably will end up in the lower 20s, but we shall see.
Wednesday
After a cold start, high temperatures on Wednesday are expected to reach 40 degrees or even a little warmer under sunny skies. The combination of mostly sunny skies and sublimation should allow for roads to mostly dry out, but for some locations this may not happen until after noon. I realize the uncertainty is no fun, but such snow and ice events are relatively rare in Houston, so we are working on limited data about local roads and their response to icy conditions. Most of Houston will fall into the upper 20s on Wednesday night.
Thursday
A little warmer, with highs generally in the upper 40s to go along with mostly sunny skies. A light freeze is likely Thursday night.
Friday
Expect more sunshine, with highs in the 50s. Some inland areas may see a light freeze on Friday night, but most of us should be in the mid- to upper-30s.
Saturday and Sunday
Expect highs in the 60s this weekend, with nights only in the 50s as a warmer pattern returns. Saturday looks OK for outdoor activities, but rain chances start to increase by Sunday into next week.
Update schedule
We will have an update for you early this afternoon, by 2:30 pm CT, and again this evening to offer the best possible forecast for temperatures and roadways on Wednesday morning.
Ah, yes, albedo and heat transfer by radiation….reminds me of my junior year heat transfer class taught by a not so good professor.
Just a dusting of snow here, but the driveway and patio look icy.
Stay safe everyone and enjoy a day of working at home…. as long as the power stays on.
Update : Snow really coming down now in Clear Lake.
League City westside – Mainly sleet all night. Just changed over to snow about an hour ago
white Christmas… just a few weeks late…
Snow is coming down in Pearland. Our Australian Shepherds are a little freaked out.
My aussie is going wild outside having fun with the kids and he usually HATES wet and cold lol.
8:00 am in Sienna. It is snowing here now at a pretty decent clip. But not what I would call a blizzard. We have about one inch of accumulation on everything. An I would bet we get another inch or so before this moves off. And most important of all to me, the power is on, and we have had none of the blips that Sienna is famous for.
Everyone stay warm and safe!
While a remnant snow cover will lower the air temperature – shouldn’t it help insulate the ground below it, helping plants survive?
Was hoping for 4-6 inches. Might get an 1.5 inches max. West pearland
Thanks for the updates and all the cool information on weather. It’s a snowing here in Sugar Land and I’m seeing about 3 inches .
Almost 9 am and snow falling steadily
Thank you, you guys are the greatest!!’n
mostly sleet and only about an inch of snow on the west side. Cant wait for all of this to melt off.
Enough of the white stuff to nicely cover the ground in Pecan Grove (Richmond). Beautiful!
(The basset hound refuses to go out in it.)
Solid 2″ with it still coming down in Atascocita at 9am.
A couple of inches in the Inner Loop/Med Center area and it is still snowing. Interesting to see the snow piled up on window ledges and on top of the AC compressors.
A brave soul walked through the snow leaving footprints but I’m sure their shoes are soggy after it melted. Another good reason to stay inside until it melts or sublimates.
Eh, the snow actually seems pretty powdery. Not sure it would really stick to shoes nor soak them that much with the lower moisture content.
People do have snow gear though lol. My kids and I have the whole shebang luckily from a snowboarding trip last year. They’re romping around like happy bunnies out there!
Really nice puffy snowflakes falling in Sweeny right now. I was able to make a small snowman on my truck ☃️
We have 3-4” in Huffman and it’s been coming down pretty heavy all morning. Kids had fun for about and hour and are now huddled inside warming back up!
Always great information! Thank you for all you do. You all are a Houston Treasure!
About 3″ here in downtown this morning. Was really coming down around 8:30.
Nearly 6″ in east Houston! Still coming heavy and strong too!
About 2” of snow in Kingwood! Beautiful and the children are having a wonderful time.
A steady downpour of sleet and cold rain in west Houston most of the night which left a layer of crunchy ice on raised surfaces, and areas of the ground, but was melting on sidewalks. The temperature seemed to hover around 33-32, but then sometime after 4am it must have started to snow. Around 7 a steady but light snow was coming down and kept up fairly steady but appears to be ending now. So the city of Houston can officially get snow, not just the outer suburbs. Dogs are enjoying the cold and frozen precipitation, but have not seen any kids yet.
We have maybe 2″ if I’m generous, here near Champions. (The final NWS forecast last night around midnight was 4.1″ for our neighborhood.) The neighborhood roads are not white, and there is mostly water on them (but a little ice!). This is definitely NOT the most snow I’ve seen in my 25 years in this neighborhood; the most was December 8, 2017.
Anyway, I hope the kids around here enjoy the snow!
It’s a winter wonderland this morning and with the expectation it will not be around for very long, now is the time to be outside enjoying what is a very unusual event in Houston.
Just southeast of the 610 loop and Meyerland, it’s a winter wonderland. A few inches on the ground everywhere. The backyard, front yard, driveway, and street are completely white, and it was blowing hard enough at some point that both cars parked under the carport have a good layer of snow on them.
Snow has stopped for a while. 1-2 inches depending on where you measure. Definitely ice underneath on the street, the two cars I’ve seen drive by (one Jeep, one SUV) not having issues. Concerned that temp is still decreasing. Now 25.7 F.
I feel cheated. We’ve had maybe an inch and a bit of snow near Westchase by 11:00AM.
Wait, summer of hell, followed by a warm fall. If it floods, climate change, if a drought, u guessed it; climate change.
CLimate change to blame for all of it? Doesnt that just cancel climate change? Can we just call it Climate?
Summer of hell (the latest) was 2023. Enjoy the snow for a change, climate change or not!
Climate Change means temperature averages are going up globally, which is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events of all kinds worldwide. This is a demonstrable fact, regardless of whether deniers choose to believe it or not.
What started out as a total bust at 7am with sleet all night in league city, flipped a switch and finally snowed for a good while. 2-3” out of it. Road, yards completely covered in white.
I will say this, saw more snow in Christmas 04’ in Galveston county back then, but will still enjoy this snow.
A new phenomena, at least for me: No child anywhere playing in the snow this morning, no building snowmen, throwing snowballs, sledding, sliding, nothing at all. The only child I saw was maybe an 8 year old standing in her doorway making a video of it on a smart phone. It’s as if children are no longer able to appreciate or enjoy the wonders of the natural world. Growing up years ago without social media and making my own adventures, I was very fortunate.
I guess? Meanwhile, on my street, roving bands of bundled up snow-day kids were making so much noise around eleven that I thought someone was legit being murdered. I don’t know if they were using smartphones, but they were definitely nailing each other with snowballs.
The “oh kids these days” thing is tired and unoriginal as hell, and Socrates said it better anyway.
Of course some neighborhoods are healthier than others.
Socrates was right. It shows him respect to repeat what he said.
It’s probably seems as old as history for two reasons: 1) wealthy societies (which are the ones that generally leave historical records) tend to become morally degenerate, and 2) human beings have always been mired in sin and dysfunction to some extent and can become better than they are, and those repeating this saying were probably the ones who had received a better upbringing than most others in their society. They are saying it because they wish everyone else was given the privilege they had been given (or rather, what is truly in accord with our nature, but in this fallen world is all too often a privilege of the few).
That is so sad! If even a snowstorm can’t break through the stranglehold of the screen, what can??
You know, it’s probably also because there are just so few children anymore. I am guessing that what with the safety-obsessed culture, with families having so few children, and with the parents working a long drive away and no stay-at-home moms or older siblings or relatives staying at home to keep an eye on the children, kids just don’t generally play outside anymore, instead being sent to school all day and given a screen to keep them from getting into any “trouble” once they get home with no parents (or relatives or older siblings) around. Thus they have no friends in the neighborhood to play outside with, and they get in the habit of being on their screen whenever they are home. Thus, even when school is canceled and it’s snowing outside, they have practically lost the ability to play outside, and anyway they have no one to play with.
And that’s not even considering the intentionally addictive nature of digital technology.
Wow you have it all figured out!
Where I live, there were kids out playing all over the neighborhood lol
Lots of kids out in my Kings River neighborhood. Sledding on any bump, lots of snowmen around, kids at the playground. Every kid should have the opportunity to play in the snow, especially for the rarity that it is here.
My neighborhood has kids out playing all the time whenever the weather is remotely appropriate for it…
Well that was a very nice snowstorm while it lasted. I can’t wait for the next one in 7 or 8 years.
Could areas with snow cover stay colder than the expected 38F? just wondering
With the snow’s albedo, yes.
Always wondered what a Winder (SIC) Wonderland looks like.