Cooler weather stays put as winter begins Saturday, rain chances return just before Christmas

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The cold front rolling through Friday evening will give us a couple of very cold mornings this weekend.

After a cool start, we'll be sunny and mild by the afternoon with highs around 60.

Just how cold will it be this weekend?

We expect low temperatures to fall into the upper 30s in the Houston areas. Middle 30s are possible outside Harris county to the west and north. Completely sunny skies will allow afternoon temps to recover to around 60, but you'll probably still want a jacket nearby.

What's the outlook for Christmas week?

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 mostly cloudy sky and a small chance of a shower. We will have higher chances for thunderstorms both on Tuesday the 24th, and Thursday the 26th at 40% and 60%. The mild weather may very well continue all the way until the New 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 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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