Warming up Friday, arctic front could bring winter storm to Houston next week
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Friday is the warmest day we have left before the arctic cold front arrives Saturday morning, and our Weather Watch remains for Monday (MLK Day) through Wednesday for the possibility of a winter storm followed by a hard, pipe-bursting freeze.
High clouds will continue to spread toward Houston overnight as temperatures drop down to around 40 degrees. If the sky ends up being clearer than predicted, we could dip into frost territory. We anticipate a fairly cloudy sky on Friday, but a south breeze will still push highs through the 60s. There is a 20% chance of some measurable rain falling from those clouds. We'll still have a small rain chance Friday evening, and temperatures should hover in the 60s Friday night until the arctic front arrives Saturday morning.
How will it impact our weekend?
Temperatures will fall into the 40s and 50s behind the front, then warm back toward 60 with the Saturday afternoon sunshine. The front will initially push away most of the clouds to bring an abundance of sunshine this weekend. Much colder air will arrive Saturday night, and that's when we expect the freeze line to first enter Southeast Texas. It now looks like the freeze line will even push into parts of Houston by sunrise Sunday. 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.
What can runners and spectators expect for the Chevron Houston Marathon on Sunday?
It's going to be a cold one! At this time we expect the start of the race to feature temperatures in the low-to-mid 30s along with a north wind up to 25 mph pushing the "feels like" temps into the lower 20s. We expect it to be dry with sunshine warming temperatures into the low 40s during the race.
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 it could drop into the teens on Wednesday morning if we get a lot of ice or snow on Tuesday. Those extreme temperatures for Wednesday are not currently in our forecast, but it is possible. 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 60%. There are some extreme computer model solutions spitting out over half a foot of snow, but it's too soon to get an accurate feel for accumulations and what type of wintry precipitation will fall. Those details will come into greater clarity this weekend.
When will we be done with the freezing temperatures?
It's possible we could have lows below freezing until the weekend. In fact, we are eying the possibility of a second wave of low pressure arriving next Thursday or Friday that could bring another round of frozen precipitation. Stay looped into the forecast this week as we continue to refine the details!
13 ALERT RADAR MAPS:
Montgomery/Walker/San Jacinto/Polk/Grimes Counties
Fort Bend/Wharton/Colorado Counties
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