WEATHER ALERT: Winter Storm Watch issued for all of Southeast Texas with snow, sleet, and ice likely
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Winter Storm Watch 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 Monday night and most of Tuesday, creating hazardous driving conditions in Southeast Texas. The National Weather Service predicts 3" 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. 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.
How will the arctic front impact our weekend?
It has been a chilly weekend with temperatures dropping to freezing or below Sunday morning. Sunshine on Sunday will warm temperatures out of the 30s and into the 40s. The freeze line could move back into as early as 9 p.m. Sunday, and we expect the freeze line will make it past the coast by sunrise Monday. We advise everyone to complete their winter preparations as soon as possible! You still have until Sunday night to finish wrapping those pipes, but it will be cold and windy Sunday.
What's the coldest it will get with this arctic front?
Unfortunately a hard, pipe-bursting freeze is on the table because this air is coming all the way from Siberia. At this time we are 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 with the expectation of ice or snow on the ground. You also need to be aware that when temperatures drop below freezing on Monday, they may not get back above freezing until Wednesday afternoon, giving us nearly 48 straight hours of freezing temperatures.
When could we get ice or snow, and how much is possible?
We are starting to gain confidence in the timing of any wintry precipitation, and the window for that occur opens up during the afternoon on MLK Day and continues through Tuesday. It now looks to be dry Tuesday night and Wednesday. Computer models are becoming more aggressive with snow and ice chances over Southeast Texas, and we have increased our chance of precipitation for freezing rain, sleet, or snow showers to 80%. There are some models showing a band setting up that could drop over 6" of snow. Where or if that band sets up is still in question.
How will this potential 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.
When will we be done with the freezing temperatures?
It's possible we could have lows below freezing until the weekend. Thursday morning may end up being another hard freeze for some areas, especially outside of Harris county. The good news is, afternoon high temps are now expected to make it to the middle 60s Saturday afternoon. A full seven frigid days from now.
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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