Santa will be dodging thunderstorms the night of Christmas Eve

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Santa better hope Rudolph's nose is ready to go because there's a high chance of thunderstorms for Southeast Texas the night of Christmas Eve.

You probably noticed it was a little more humid outside Tuesday morning! That humidity will stay put today with temperatures rising into the mid 70s. Scattered showers are possible during the day with a few rumbles of the thunder. The chance of rain climbs from 40% during the day to 80% at night when the main line rolls through. An isolated hailstorm with gusty winds cannot be ruled out the night of Christmas Eve. Thankfully, those storms should be mostly gone by the time the sun comes up on Christmas Day, with just a few lingering showers possible mainly near the coast.

What should we expect for Christmas Eve?

We've got a cloudy and grey start to Christmas Eve before a stormy night. Isolated showers are possible throughout the day today with a humid and unsettled pattern overhead. Temperatures will be back in the mid 70s this afternoon and we're not ruling out a stray storm or two that could be strong north of Houston during the day. The main focus is tonight when a sweeping line of storms will plow through from north to south beginning around 10 pm in College Station, making it to Houston just after Midnight and off to the coast around 3 am. Any storm that develops today/tonight could produce gusty winds, heavy rainfall that could lead to localized street flooding and small hail. The storms tonight too, even if they're not severe warned, will likely be loud with lots of thunder and lightning.

What about Christmas Day?

It will be a little cooler with temperatures holding steady in the 60s under a mostly cloudy sky. The rain showers should end in the morning giving us a dry afternoon to play with those new gifts!

What else do we need to know for this holiday week?

Another round of rain moves in Thursday, especially at night, and some of those storms could turn severe. Yet another storm system will blow in here Friday to bring a continued chance of rain into Saturday morning. Then it will dry up for the rest of the year!

When could we get our first freeze in Houston?

We see no signs of freezing temperatures in southeast Texas over the next 10 days. Long-range projections indicate a pattern change is coming to kick off the new year that should lead to chillier weather and chance for a freeze during the first two weeks of January. On average, Houston's first freeze occurs during the second week of December.

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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