Prepare for more foggy mornings until cold front brings back winter's chill

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- It's a lovely spring we're having here in the middle of December, but winter's chill will return Wednesday with the arrival of a stronger cold front.

Prepare for more fog to start the day on Tuesday morning with mild morning lows in the upper 60s. Once the sun pokes out, temperatures will rapidly warm into the lower 80s, nearing the record high of 82 established in 2021. There is again a 20% chance you'll encounter a rain shower or even a lone thunderstorm, but most of us will stay dry.

Why is it so foggy and when will it go away?

We've got very moist air sitting over somewhat cool Gulf waters at this time. That will allow sea fog to develop and move inland, and it will be dense in spots. It'll be widespread Tuesday and Wednesday mornings when even more moisture makes it inland. Watch out for visibility readings to drop below 1/4 of a mile at times. Give yourself extra time to get to work or school. Keep those headlights on low beam and keep a careful eye out for pedestrians, especially in neighborhoods and school zones. The fog will completely leave us after the cold front arrives Wednesday.

What are rain chances looking like when the cold front arrives?

Because the main jet stream storm track is across the northern part of the country, this cold front will only bring a thin line of showers and thunderstorms. We've got your chance of rain at 40%. If you do get rain, don't expect much more than 1 or 2 tenths of an inch.

How cold will it get behind Wednesday's cold front?

We are expecting seasonal temperatures with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. Saturday morning looks to be our coldest with the possibility of upper 30s outside of Houston and lower 40s in town.

What's the outlook for Christmas Day?

It's looking more likely that it'll be a mild Christmas here in Southeast Texas. At this time we anticipate morning lows in the 50s and daytime highs in the 70s with a partly cloudy sky bringing only a 20% chance for showers. The mild weather very well may continue all the way until the New Year.

When could we get our first freeze in Houston?

We see no signs of freezing temperatures over the next 10 days in Southeast Texas. Long range projections indicate we'll have to wait until the first half of January for a decent chance of a freeze in Houston. 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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