WEATHER ALERT: Winter Storm Warning starts Monday, dangerous travel through at least Wednesday a.m.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect for all of Southeast Texas from 6 p.m. Monday to 6 p.m. Tuesday. A mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain is likely to fall beginning Monday evening and most of Tuesday, creating hazardous driving conditions. The National Weather Service predicts 3 to 5 inches of snow and sleet accumulations with locally higher amounts. Ice accumulations from freezing rain could measure up to one-tenth of an inch.
Our ABC13 Weather team has declared Weather Alert Days for Tuesday and Wednesday as the winter storm impacts Southeast Texas with snow, ice, and a hard freeze. An Extreme Cold Watch has also been issued for Tuesday night through Wednesday morning with temperatures in the low teens expected. Wednesday morning could be the coldest of the season yet!
We still have you on Weather Watch for Monday as it will be very cold, but the snow and ice is currently expected to hold off until the evening. Try to be off the roads once the sun goes down, and wherever you lay your head to rest Monday night, be prepared to stay there again Tuesday night and Wednesday night as travel may be impossible.
Most of Monday will be ok to get out and about as the rain shouldn't begin until the evening. We are also starting off chilly with lows near or below freezing but highs should make their way into the upper 30s by the afternoon.
When could we get ice or snow, and how much is possible?
A light mixture of wintry precipitation could being as early as Monday afternoon, but it really picks up after midnight and all through Tuesday morning. We expect all the precipitation to end between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesday. We are predicting 3-6" of snow to be likely for most of Houston and Harris County as well as Fort Bend and Chambers Counties. Elsewhere, 1-3" will be common. There are likely to be intense snow bands that set up over parts of Southeast Texas that could drop between 6-12" of snow, but it is impossible to determine where those will occur.
How will this winter storm impact travel?
We are advising people to be prepared to stay put wherever you go to bed Monday night until Wednesday afternoon at the earliest. If some of the more aggressive snow/ice amounts verify, travel may be nearly impossible until sometime Thursday. Air travel will also likely be suspended for a time, especially while the precipitation is falling on Tuesday.
What's the coldest it will get with this arctic front?
Unfortunately a hard, pipe-bursting freeze is likely because of all the snow on the ground coupled with the fact that this air is coming all the way from Siberia. At this time we expect low temperatures to bottom out in the mid-to-upper 20s for Houston Monday and Tuesday mornings, and we now predict it will fall into the teens on Wednesday morning. Another hard freeze, possibly down into the teens, is possible Thursday morning, especially over the thicker snowpack. You also need to be aware that when temperatures drop below freezing Monday night, they may not get back above freezing until Wednesday afternoon, giving us nearly 48 straight hours of freezing temperatures.
When will we be done with the freezing temperatures?
We expect another freeze Friday morning, but then we should be done with freezing temperatures over the weekend with highs pushing back into the 60s Saturday and Sunday. Some snowmen could survive in shady spots all the way until Saturday afternoon.
13 ALERT RADAR MAPS:
Southeast Texas
Houston
Harris County
Galveston County
Montgomery/Walker/San Jacinto/Polk/Grimes Counties
Fort Bend/Wharton/Colorado Counties
Brazoria/Matagorda Counties
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