HOUSTON – Be sure to bundle up warmly, Harris County is one of several under a Hard Freeze warning and Wind Advisory until Wednesday morning, 11 News Chief Meteorologist Gene Norman said.
Norman said there will be a good chance for snow later in the week, but right now the big issue is wind and cold.
A Hard Freeze warning was issued for Harris, Fort Bend, Galveston, Jackson, Grimes, Jefferson, Walker, Washington, Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Matagorda, Wharton, Austin, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers and Colorado counties until 10 a.m.
A Wind Chill Advisory was issued for Harris, Austin, Colorado, Grimes, Walker and Washington, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Jefferson Walker Fort Bend, Jackson, Matagorda, Wharton, Galveston counties effective until 9 a.m. Wednesday. Wind Chill Advisories are issued when the wind chill is expected to drop into the single digits.
The Houston area will see low temperatures Wednesday in the lower 20s.
“Neighborhoods north of town may not get too far above freezing, and here in the city, we may not get above the mid-30s throughout the day, with wind chill still making it feel like it’s in the 20s,” Norman said.
The Arctic air is forecast to hang around through the end of the week. On Thursday, you can expect more of the same temperature-wise, but add a chance for snow on top of that.
“I’m tracking an upper-level low which will come out of West Texas. At the same time, moisture will come out of the Gulf. When those two combine, that’s the scenario for snow,” Norman said.
Officially, the chance for snow Thursday night is 20 percent, increasing to 60 percent on Friday.
Norman said the best chance for snow will be in areas south of I-10, but it’s still not clear exactly how much will fall.
Officials were already preparing for the possibility of winter weather. TxDOT crews were deployed Tuesday morning to put de-icing chemicals on bridges and overpasses.
HISD canceled all soccer games through Friday because of the cold.
And if you’re planning on traveling this week, you might be in for some trouble.
Because of the weather, airlines were canceling thousands of flights and erasing much of their service in the middle of the country.
Flight tracking service FlightAware logged over 6,000 cancellations Tuesday and more were expected on Wednesday.
Click here to check the status of flights across the country.
The good thing is, the worst of the weather is expected to be over after Friday. Lows will stay in the 20s Saturday, but highs should climb into the 50s. On Sunday, we’ll be back to highs in the 60s and lows in the 30s.
Via: KHOU.com
