Snow & Ice Moving In – Winter Storm Warning

We have a classic setup to receive snow in Southeast Texas.  Low pressure moving in from South Texas picks up moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and moves over us, and below-freezing temperatures from the arctic blast will still be coming in from the north. 

The white line represents the temperature profile in the upper levels of the atmosphere.  We have a shallow layer of below-freezing temperatures along the coast.  What happens with a setup like this is rain falls but freezes once it hits the ground.  This makes freezing rain for our coastal counties and the most dangerous driving conditions.  We start with sleet in Houston this evening and the rain is freezing as it falls.  After a few hours this will all turn to snow.  We have a deep layer of below-freezing temperatures north of Houston, so all precipitation will fall as snow.  Because the temperatures have been in the 20s and 30s the snow and ice will stick and accumulate right away.   

By Friday morning we’ll have about a half-inch of ice in Galveston, 1 to 3 inches of snow in Houston, west and north with more northeast of Houston.  Be careful Friday morning, it will be dangerous on the roadways.

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Winter Weather Alert Webcast